Also known as: rights of access · access right · right to access
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A First Amendment guarantee that the public and press may attend criminal trials and certain pretrial proceedings. Courts may close such proceedings only upon specific findings that an overriding interest requires closure and that the closure is narrowly tailored.
A First Amendment guarantee that the public and press may attend criminal trials and certain pretrial proceedings. Courts may close such proceedings only upon specific findings that an overriding interest requires closure and that the closure is narrowly tailored.
Rajesh Rao stands trial for fraud in a high-profile case. The prosecution asks the judge to clear the courtroom during key witness testimony to protect the witness's privacy. The judge refuses after finding no overriding interest that cannot be served by narrower measures such as sealing portions of the transcript.
In child custody and family disputes, a party's entitlement to visitation, parenting time, or contact with a child.
Raymond Ramos and his former spouse submit their custody disagreement to arbitration under the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act. The arbitrator must decide whether Ramos receives scheduled parenting time with their child after the mother relocates across the state.
An implied servitude or easement that grants necessary physical access to landlocked property or to property interests conveyed or retained in a conveyance.
Roger Ramirez owns a parcel surrounded by private land with no public road connection. The city condemns a narrow strip across neighboring property to build a permanent access road. Ramirez gains the right to use the new road to reach his land.
In child custody and family disputes, a party's entitlement to visitation, parenting time, or contact with a child.
An implied servitude or easement that grants necessary physical access to landlocked property or to property interests conveyed or retained in a conveyance.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Ralph Richardson is a defendant in a criminal case. The state moves to close the preliminary hearing to protect witness identities. The court denies closure after finding no overriding interest that cannot be protected by narrower means, preserving public and press access.
A court may close proceedings only upon specific findings that an overriding interest requires closure and that the closure is narrowly tailored to serve that interest. Blanket or consent-based closures without such findings violate the First Amendment right of access.
No. The press receives the same right of access to criminal trials and proceedings as the public at large. Courts have rejected claims that journalists enjoy greater rights to enter prisons or other government facilities than ordinary citizens.
It refers to a party's entitlement to visitation, parenting time, or contact with a child and is treated as one of the child-related disputes that may be submitted to arbitration under the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act.
Ryan Roberts receives title to an interior parcel after a subdivision conveyance that leaves no recorded outlet. The grantor refuses to allow a driveway across retained land. Roberts claims an implied servitude by necessity to reach the public road.
Rhea Reynolds seeks a permit to rebuild her beachfront home. The coastal commission conditions approval on Reynolds recording a public easement allowing pedestrians to cross her property to reach the shoreline. Reynolds challenges the condition as lacking an essential nexus to the project's impact.
A conveyance includes an implied servitude for access when the grant would otherwise leave the conveyed or retained parcel landlocked or unable to be enjoyed. The servitude arises by necessity unless the parties clearly express a contrary intent.
…a condemnation for the purpose of ensuring access to a resource to which similarly situated members of the public had a legal right of access. Likewise, in Strickley v. Highland Boy Gold Mining Co. , 200 U. S. 527 (1906), the Court upheld a condemnation establishing an aerial right-of-way for a bucket line operated by a mining…