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But another argues that the governor's daughter's case should stay in open court, like all criminal proceedings.
©Associated Press
October 9, 2002
ORLANDO -- An attorney for Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter asked a judge Tuesday to close her drug court proceedings -- an unprecedented request that, if granted, could keep the public out of all future drug court hearings.
Noelle Bush has an expectation of privacy while under the drug court's supervision, said Peter Antonacci, her attorney.
But an attorney for the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel argued that drug courts are no different from any other criminal court, and there is no threat to the administration of justice if they are left open.
"This decides whether she goes to jail or not," said Jonathan Kaney, a First Amendment attorney. "That's criminal."
Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead, who is supervising Bush's drug treatment, didn't say when he would make a decision.
Speaking to reporters in Tallahassee, Gov. Bush said he believes drug courts should be protected from public scrutiny.
"At a point in time, people can be looked at as though they're failing when in fact if you look at it over the long haul, they're on the road to recovery," Bush said.
If the judge rules in favor of private hearings for Noelle Bush, it would go against the grain of the First Amendment, since court proceedings are closed to the public only under rare circumstances, said Bruce J. Winick, a law professor at the University of Miami.
"Our tradition is one of openness," Winick said. "What happens in a courtroom is of strong public interest."
If Whitehead decides to close Noelle Bush's hearings, then all future drug court hearings must be closed, Kaney warned -- "There is no celebrity exception to the rule of openness in court."
Antonacci argued that drug courts are different from criminal courts because they help a person complete a treatment program and aren't subject to the same openness as criminal courts.
Drug courts rely on a level of honest communication that would be undermined by public scrutiny, he said.
"They must be able to communicate with the security that everything will remain private," Antonacci said.
Bush, 25, was arrested last January for buying an antianxiety drug with a fraudulent prescription at a Tallahassee pharmacy. She chose to seek treatment through a diversionary drug court rather than face a criminal trial. Bush could be tried on criminal charges if she is kicked out of drug court.
In July, she spent two days in jail for possessing a prescription drug. Police officers were called to her Orlando treatment center last month after a patient reported that Bush was in possession of crack cocaine. Drug treatment workers refused to cooperate with police, so the State Attorney's Office subpoenaed four workers.
Circuit Judge Belvin Perry ruled that the workers couldn't be compelled to testify because of federal regulations protecting the privacy of a person in drug treatment.