Mine hearings will stay closed

A federal judge has rejected a request by various media groups to stop a series of closed hearings regarding the Crandall Canyon Mine disaster.

In a nine-page ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said there is nothing in the Constitution that would justify opening the hearings — which will look into the disaster that claimed the lives of nine miners — to the public and press.

"Because this court can find nothing in the Constitution or in the statutes of the United States to support Plaintiffs' position, the current (Mine Safety and Health Administration) proceeding may proceed without interference from this court," Benson stated, adding that the ability to open the hearings to the public lies in the hands of Congress, which can pass a law ordering the hearings opened.

"Obviously we're disappointed," said attorney Michael O'Brien, who represented the Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake Tribune, Associated Press, CNN and the Utah Media Coalition. "But then again, if you never asked to be let in, then you're guaranteed to be left out."

An Aug. 6 collapse trapped six miners inside the Crandall Canyon Mine near Huntington, and their bodies were never recovered. Another collapse 10 days later killed three rescuers.

The media outlets filed suit in federal court last week, seeking to stop the closed hearings, arguing that reporters and members of the public have a right to know what is happening in proceedings undertaken by a group called the "MSHA panel." The panel has been examining the two mine collapses and taking sworn testimony from people in formal, quasi-judicial settings that have been kept secret.

The MSHA panel has suggested that a report and transcripts of "nonconfidential" testimony will be available later. Media organizations argue it will take months before anything becomes public, and what will eventually be released will be limited.

Attorneys for the media organizations argue there have been reports that MSHA bears some responsibility for the accident and perhaps engaged in "inappropriate activity" afterward. For that reason, the public has a right to know about the disaster and what the panel is doing.

Federal attorneys have argued that the panel is conducting a law enforcement investigation, and its hearings are therefore closed to the public.

"This court ruling allows MSHA's law enforcement investigation, including the questioning of witnesses, to continue without media interference that could deprive the public and the victims' families of a full accounting of what happened at Crandall Canyon," said David James, assistant secretary of labor for the office of public affairs.

O'Brien said there is the option to appeal Benson's decision to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. If the media organizations decide to appeal, O'Brien said they likely will request an expedited hearing, arguing there is urgency to have a decision while the panel continues to hold hearings.

In his ruling, Benson did say he found the media organizations' arguments on the importance of government accountability "persuasive." He said there is nothing under the current law that would allow the hearings to be open. Benson did, however, note that Congress and the president have the ability to change that by passing a law that would open the hearings to the public.

O'Brien said there is still hope to shed some light on the secretive proceedings. "This is a proceeding that the public should be allowed to observe," he said.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com