South Carolina Law Review Volume 55 Issue 4 SYMPOSIUM: COURT-ENFORCED Article 10 SECRECY Summer 2004 Settlements and Secrets: Is the Sunshine Chilly James E. Rooks Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/sclr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Rooks, James E. Jr. (2004) "Settlements and Secrets: Is the Sunshine Chilly," South Carolina Law Review: Vol. 55 : Iss. 4 , Article 10. Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/sclr/vol55/iss4/10 This Symposium Paper is brought to you by the Law Reviews and Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in South Carolina Law Review by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Rooks: Settlements and Secrets: Is the Sunshine Chilly SETTLEMENTS AND SECRETS: Is THE SUNSHINE CHILLY? JAMES E. ROOKS JR." I. OPEN COURTS, CLOSED FILES ................................. 859 II. JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE EFFORTS TO DEAL WITH OVERUSE AND ABUSE OF SECRECY ........................ 861 III. THE "CHILLED SETTLEMENTS" ARGUMENT ....................... 863 IV. FEDERAL JUDGES CONFRONT SECRET SETTLEMENTS ............... 865 V. DOES SECRECY PROMOTE SETrLEMENT? DOES SUNSHINE "CHILL" SETrLEMENTS? ... ....... ...... ...... ....... 870 VI. WHERE ARE THE CHILLED SETTLEMENTS? ...... ....... ....... 872 VII. FROM SPECULATION TO SOPHISTRY .............................. 874 I. OPEN COURTS, CLOSED FILES American lawyers recognize that the openness of the courts, and the public nature of their proceedings and records, are hallmarks of our system ofjustice. Yet few lawyers who represent consumers in United States courts can be unaware of the national public policy debate on the frequent use and abuse of secrecy in our civil justice system. "Secrecy," in this debate, refers collectively to a number of legal mechanisms that may be used to conceal litigation information from the public, from government regulators, from attorneys handling similar cases, and in some cases even from other courts.