When lawmakers set up drug courts and mental health courts, they didn't spend a lot of time thinking through the openness of the hearings.
Consequently, many of the drug court and mental health court hearings being held here and elsewhere in Oklahoma are closed to the public. The state Supreme Court has held that criminal proceedings are presumed to be open but judges routinely close the doors.
Criminal court proceedings that are closed to the public raise questions in the public's mind. A statewide organization dedicated to open government has raised concerns about the trend to close.
"Courts operate much better when they operate in the open," says Joey Senate, an OSU professor and president of FOI Oklahoma.
The Associated Press said a desire to keep medical data private is driving some judges' decisions. But the federal act that seals such records makes no mention of courts.
