From the Charlotte Observer (3/12/12): The stack of documents is about a foot high and has been shrink-wrapped, ensuring the papers have not been viewed.
The former district attorney of Durham, Tracey Cline, would like to see them. So would The (Raleigh) News & Observer.
The documents are email messages of Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson, who says “judicial privilege” shields the papers from public inspection. Hudson, Durham’s senior judge, has not made the documents available for public inspection, and says the law is on his side. Some experts agree.
It might not be that clear cut.
North Carolina’s public records law says most everything created by government officials belongs to the public and should be available for inspection by the public. But that law and other state laws carve out some exceptions to the broad language. There are limits, for example, on the public’s access to business trade secrets, criminal investigation documents and many personnel records.