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Thursday, February 15, 2007
Courts - More on: "Jurists seal cases of colleagues: Litigants include relatives of those with ties to court"
"Kept confidential are the name of the judge who sealed the lawsuit, the names of the lawyers who litigated the case, the judge's reasoning in sealing the case, and whether Darrian or her ex-husband requested the case be hidden from her fans."
Continuing to follow the Las Vegas Review-Journal stories on cases decided in secret in the Nevada court system (see Feb. 12th ILB entry here), the Review-Journal ran a story by Frank Geary on Valentine's Day (access it here) headed "Porn star bares all except lawsuit against ex." Some quotes:
Because she is the star in nearly 100 porn movies, it's hard to imagine that Penthouse Pet Racquel Darrian is shy about much.Her age, weight, bra size, eye and hair color, sexual orientation, cosmetic surgery, one-time drug habit, tattoo, favorite actor, favorite food and sexual fantasy are broadcast on carnal Web sites that speak glowingly of the temptress, known in her prime as the "brunette goddess of porn."
But kept confidential from Darrian's legion of lustful onlookers are the dispute, deliberations and outcome of a lawsuit she filed in Clark County in 2000 against her former husband and porn co-star, Bradley Gerig, who went by the stage name Derrick Lane in the 1990s, according to Web sites devoted to the adult-entertainment industry.
Darrian, a Las Vegas resident, declined to discuss her case and refused to identify the judge or the attorneys in the case.
"It's not for the public," she said. "I have rights to my privacy. This didn't have anything to do with anything illegal."
Most lawsuits in Clark County District Court are open for public review, however judges for years have sealed cases such as Darrian's.
No information is available to the public on those lawsuits, but the Review-Journal obtained limited information about cases sealed since 2000. Many litigants are wealthy or wield influence in Las Vegas politics, business or the courts.
Judges said the state Supreme Court's 1995 Whitehead ruling gives them authority to seal cases, but critics said the practice is unconstitutional. * * *
Unlike most of the nearly 140,000 lawsuits filed in Clark County in the past six years, which are available to the public at the courthouse, nothing is known about the dispute between the porn princess and her former husband.
Kept confidential are the name of the judge who sealed the lawsuit, the names of the lawyers who litigated the case, the judge's reasoning in sealing the case, and whether Darrian or her ex-husband requested the case be hidden from her fans.
Elizabeth Gonzalez, presiding judge over the county's Civil Court, said a case is sealed only when it deals with trade secrets, proprietary information or a patient's confidential medical information, or when both parties to a lawsuit agree that information in the case is confidential.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 15, 2007 12:18 PM
Posted to Courts in general