Los Angeles Times: Flap over order to delete article ends with judge withdrawing the order

A federal district judge withdrew an order that required the Los Angeles Times to censor an article with information about a former Glendale, California police detective with alleged ties to the Mexican mafia. Judge John F. Water issued the order on the belief that the Times had obtained the information about a plea agreement illegally and said he acted to protect the safety of the former detective. (Los Angeles Times, July 17, 2018, by Victoria Kim)

The Times had indeed obtained the information legally as a clerk erred in filing the plea agreement in a public database. Legal scholars, prominent news outlets and reporters organizations sided with the Times. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press issued a press release, July 16, 2018, calling the judge’s initial order “unconstitutional.”