A federal appeals court grappled on Wednesday with whether to revive a lawsuit seeking to release Michigan courtroom audio from a hearing in which a judge allegedly verbally abused a defendant, after the state court only released a transcript of the proceeding.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit heard arguments in the case brought by Samantha Hallman, who claims her brother was verbally abused by a judge during a plea hearing, over whether the Oakland County, Michigan, court should have to release the audio of the proceeding. Hallman claims in a filing to the appeals court that the judge overseeing the proceedings “lost her temper, refused to allow Mr. Hallman a promised opportunity to explain his conduct, and engaged in other ‘extremely unfair and intemperate conduct.’” Hallman wanted the recording to be published to “encourage voters to elect a better-qualified judge” and argued that the state court’s rule blocking the recording violates the First Amendment.
