When courts decide lawsuits involving government officials, they too often come with gag orders preventing parties from making public statements. The orders deprive the public of the ability to know what their government is up to, reducing the deterrent value of the lawsuits. (TechDirt, October 30, 2015, by Tim Cushing)
Last spring, Rhode Island citizens were left stranded by a gag order that prevented public comment by lawyers and public officials over a proposed settlement on a state pension issue. With substantial effects for taxpayers, some consider the gag order a violation of the First Amendment. (Providence Journal, March 26, 2015, by C. Eugene Emery Jr.)
In related matter, California passed a law in 2012 to prevent licensed professions from adding gag orders to settlements that would block citizens wishing to take complaints to the Department of Consumer Affairs. (AllGov, December 18, 2012, by Ken Broder)