In his column in the Providence Journal (2/1) Edward Fitzpatrick wrote, “In his first days in office, President Obama has called for more openness in government, saying, ‘Transparency promotes accountability.'” He said, “That’s a welcome message after years of increasing governmental secrecy on the national level. Yet here in Rhode Island, we are preparing to have retired judges preside over privately financed civil trials – behind closed doors, beyond the light of public scrutiny.” Fitzpatrick wrote that “Miriam Weizenbaum, president of Rhode Island Association for Justice, said, ‘What’s different about this process is the decision that comes out of those private trials has the same effect as a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
