Back on March 9 I had a post about the Eaton v. Frisby case and called it a mess worth watching. Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Swan Yerger made watching the case harder last Thursday by closing the courtroom to the press and public. In doing so, Judge Yerger apparently disregarded state Supreme Court rules for closing a court from the public. Jimmy Gates from the Clarion-Ledger objected, but was thrown out. The apparent justification for closing the courtroom was:

Yerger said attorneys for both sides agreed it should be closed to the media and the public.

On Sunday the Clarion-Ledger’s Ronnie Agnew wrote a scathing criticism of Judge Yerger’s decision:

How can the public have confidence in the judicial system when shenanigans that took place Thursday continue to occur, when people in charge of upholding the law conveniently ignore what the law states?

The events of Thursday represent a travesty of justice and Senior Judge Swan Yerger, no newcomer to the bench, ought to know the law better than with the judgment he showed that day. Yerger is hearing a $1 billion theft of trade lawsuit where officials at Eaton Aerospace contend five employees revealed trade secrets when they went to work for a North Carolina competitor.

While I’m not going to go so far as to call it a travesty of justice, Mr. Agnew has a point. The Eaton v. Frisby case is probably the biggest case pending in Hinds County, perhaps in the whole state. The parties are litigating the case at the expense of the taxpayers, who fund the judicial system. If Eaton and Frisby are not comfortable airing their dispute in public, then they should agree to a private arbitration where they pay the decision maker and can set whatever ground rules they want. There are strong public policy reasons favoring open courts, and parties should not be able to disregard those policies and close a court by agreement.