国会记录：2003年4月8日（参议院）通过Kohl先生提出的账单和联合决议的陈述：S. 817.一项关于修订第28章，美国代码，有关的条例草案保护订单，案件的密封，民事诉讼中的发现信息，以及其他目的;向司法委员会委员会。科尔先生。主席先生，我今天上涨，介绍了2003年诉讼法案的阳光，这是解决联邦法院发出的滥用秘密订单的措施。总的来说，法院签署了秘密定居点，从母亲和父亲和父亲和父亲的父母和潜在股权的儿童屏蔽了重要的公共卫生和安全信息，以及我们要求保护我们的健康和安全的公共官员。问题是一个简单的问题，几十年来一直在重新运转。个人为制造商带来行动的原因，造成由产品缺陷导致的伤害或死亡。原告，常常因为悲伤或缺乏资源而继续诉讼程序，迅速解决诉讼。作为交换，被告坚持认为原告同意包含保密条款。 This mechanism prevents either party from disclosing information revealed during the process of litigation. Both of the parties to the lawsuit believe that they have ``won'': the plaintiff won a satisfactory financial settlement, and the defendant won the right to conceal ``smoking gun'' documents. But not everybody wins. Future victims of injuries or fatalities resulting from the same product defect lose, because they or their families must ``re-invent the wheel'' as they litigate virtually the same case. Even worse, the American public loses with this outcome, because they remain unaware of the critical public health and safety information which could prevent harm and save lives. Currently, judges have broad discretion in granting protective orders when ``good cause'' is shown. But these protective orders are being misused. Tobacco companies, automobile manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies have settled with victims and used the legal system to hide information which, if it became public, could protect the American public but endanger their business or reputation. We can all agree that the only appropriate use for such orders is to protect trade secrets and other truly confidential company information and our legislation makes sure it is protected. But protective orders are certainly not supposed to be used to hide public safety information from the public, especially when such information is neither trade secret nor proprietary. There are no records kept of the number of confidentiality orders accepted by state or federal courts. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that court secrecy and confidential settlements are prevalent. Let me share some examples that illustrate the dangerous and often deadly consequences [[Page S4964]] that result from protective orders: Although an internal memo suggests that General Motors, ``GM'', was aware of the risk of fire deaths from crashes of pickup trucks with ``side saddle'' fuel tanks, an estimated 750 people were killed in fires involving these fuel tanks. When victims sued, GM disclosed documents only under protective orders and settled these cases only on the condition that these documents remained secret. This type of fuel tank was installed for 15 years before being discontinued. Sixteen month-old Michael Bancroft was buckled into a Kolcraft booster-style safety seat in his mother's car when the car was involved in an accident. Due to a defect in product design, however, the seat did not protect him from a broken neck and paralysis. Kolcraft and the Bancrofts settled for $4.25 million and signed a confidentiality agreement that concealed the product's defect. Because this information remained a secret, countless parents continued to feel a false sense of safety when securing their children in Kolcraft safety seats. From 1992-2000, tread separation of certain Bridgestone and Firestone tires caused a great number of car accidents, many involving serious injuries or fatalities. Bridgestone/Firestone quietly settled dozens of lawsuits resulting from faulty tire crashes, most of which included secrecy agreements. It was only in 1999, when a Houston public television broke the story, that the company admitted the defect and recalled 6.5 million tires. Some States have been proactive in dealing with this problem. Florida, for example, has in place a Sunshine in Litigation law that severely limits the ability of parties to conceal information that effects public health and safety. Michigan has a rule that requires that secret settlements be unsealed two years after they are approved. And just last year, the judges of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina unanimously agreed not to accept any secret settlements at all. While these steps indicate movement in the right direction, we still have a long way to go. It is time to initiate a federal solution for this problem. The Sunshine in Litigation Act is a modest proposal that would require Federal judges to perform a simple balancing test to ensure that the defendant's interest in secrecy truly outweighs the public interest in information related to public health and safety. Specifically, prior to making any portion of a case confidential or sealed, a judge would have to determine by making a particularized finding of fact--that doing so would not restrict the disclosure of information relevant to public health and safety. Moreover, all courts, both Federal and State, would be prohibited from issuing protective orders that prevent disclosure to relevant regulatory agencies. And don't just take it from me. During his confirmation hearings before the Judiciary Committee in January 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft voiced his support for this legislation, saying, ``I think unnecessarily hiding or otherwise concealing from the public those [public health and safety hazards] would be against the interests of the people . . . I think there's great danger in not providing public information.'' This legislation does not prohibit secrecy agreements across the board. It does not place an undue burden on judges or our courts. It simply states that where the public interest in disclosure outweighs legitimate interests in secrecy, courts should not shield important health and safety information from the public and from regulators. This is an entirely reasonable balancing test. It is time to eliminate the dark dangers of court secrecy and bring matters of public health and safety into the light, where they belong. ______