Putting the Private in Private Eye

At criminal trials in U.S. federal courts, documents filed by prosecutors and defendants are typically readily available to the public through a court-records information system. Sometimes trial exhibits will also be posted by the Justice Department, as with wiretap transcripts at a recent mob trial in Chicago.

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The federal trial of Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano, under way in Los Angeles, also involves wiretaps, but those records have not been particularly accessible. Pellicano is accused of putting police department employees on his payroll and of crimes related to an enterprise that paired wiretapping technology with moonlighting telephone company employees. Hollywood attorneys hiring Pellicano used illegally overheard phone calls or pilfered police records to gain the upper hand in their celebrity clients' legal disputes. Paramount chief Brad Grey testified at the trial that he was unaware of Pellicano's role in resolving Grey's contentious falling out with former management client, comedian Garry Shandling. Shandling, whose $100 million lawsuit against Grey in 1998 was settled for a paltry $10 million, also appeared.

Portions of Pellicano recordings have been played in court, but, although the government's evidence includes much of his allegedly nefarious "work product," a curious citizen looking at the 26-page docket of U.S. v Pellicano (excerpts Pages 2 and 3) will more likely encounter an "Application to Seal Document" than a juicy transcript. Numerous filings in the case have been replaced with the federal court's equivalent of a No Trespassing sign (see below). Pellicano's former clients and their former adversaries are apparently aligned at least in one thing: keeping snoopy gossips away.

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