ICAP successfully represented Matt Stroud, an investigative journalist and CEO of Postindustrial magazine, in a First Amendment lawsuit challenging the ban on audio-recording bail hearings in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pennsylvania. The lawsuit targeted court rules that prohibited the public from making silent audio recordings of proceedings. Because initial bail hearings in Pittsburgh were typically conducted without an official transcript or court reporter, the recording ban effectively prevented journalists and the public from creating an accurate, objective record of how bail decisions were being made.
The litigation emphasized that the “right of access” to courts is hollow if the public is barred from documenting the proceedings, particularly when the government fails to do so itself. ICAP’s advocacy in this case helped secure a major victory for transparency. In 2021, the court rules were effectively challenged and addressed, leading to a voluntary dismissal of the suit after the core barriers to recording were mitigated. The case also helped establish an important precedent in Pennsylvania: when courts operate “off the record,” the First Amendment protects the public’s right to create its own record to ensure judicial accountability.
