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![handle is hein.gao/gaobabmyw0001 and id is 1 raw text is:
UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20548
GENEAL GV~RN~~f]RESTRICTED - Not to be released outside the QenerV
GENERAL GOVERNME~r
DIVISION AccounC919 ffg~ice 2,cept oni the basis of specific aPPrOval
by the Office of CongressiOnal Relations
B-211 253 APRIL 21, 1983
The Honorable Robert W. Kastenmeier
Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, 111li l I I
Civil Liberties and the Adminis-
tration of Justice
Committee on the Judiciary 121 6
House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Chairman:
Subject: Closed Criminal Plea and Sentencing Proceedings
by U.S. Attorneys (GAO/GGD-83-56)
In your August 11, 1982, letter, you requested that we ex-
amine the Department of Justice's practice of conducting crim-
inal plea and sentencing proceedings in closed district court
sessions. Justice's regulations provide, as a matter of policy,
a presumption that judicial proceedings will be open to the
public unless closure is essential to the interests of justice.
They also require Government attorneys to obtain permission from
the Associate Attorney General in criminal cases before seeking
or agreeing to closure. We found that closing criminal plea and
sentencing proceedings was uncommon and generally used only to
protect cooperating defendants or ongoing investigations. We
also found that Justice, when requested, was cautious and de-
liberate in approving closed proceedings, basing its decisions
on the individual circumstances of each case.
However, Justice does not have a centralized monitoring
system to ensure that cases approved for closure are unsealed as
soon as possible. Further, while all U.S. attorneys included in
our evaluation now realize that approval is necessary before
closing plea or sentencing proceedings, they had differing views
as to what other proceedings required approval prior to seeking
or agreeing to closure. As agreed with your office, we have
advised the Attorney General by separate letter that these two
matters are worthy of his attention.
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