[IS] Opinions
The First Amendment to the Constitution and the common law that came before it protect our rights of free speech and free press, and those include the right to scrutinize almost everything in our nation’s courtrooms except the most sensitive prosecutions and lawsuits. One might expect that American courtrooms are the last place secrets can be kept. However, a recent ruling in a case in San Antonio threatens our right to judicial transparency and, as a result, public accountability.
Title Source v. HouseCanary is a dispute in the District Court of Bexar County, Texas, in which HouseCanary, a Silicon Valley startup, won a record-setting verdict of more than $700 million after alleging Title Source misappropriated its trade secrets, or aspects of a software application that estimates the value of homes. Title Source successfully appealed the verdict, and the case will likely be retried.
Oddly, seven weeks after the trial HouseCanary asked the court to place some exhibits under seal — that is, prohibit public access to them — claiming that the documents contained trade secrets. The exhibits were introduced in open court and thus public for nearly two months, but the court granted HouseCanary’s request and placed them under seal. Suddenly, public records weren’t public anymore. This sealing was separately appealed all the way to the Texas Supreme Court, which reversed the trial court’s decision, because the trial judge followed the wrong procedure. But in...
In January of 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice reported a record-breaking year for False Claims Act recoveries, with the vast majority related to healthcare. What the DOJ report does not captu...