No divorce privacy

John sends this AP story:

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A judge struck down a California law that allowed billionaire investor Ron Burkle to seal some records related to his divorce proceedings, saying it is unconstitutional.

Superior Court Judge Roy L. Paul ruled Monday that the law that went into effect last summer violates the public's constitutional right to access civil court proceedings and records. The law had been challenged by lawyers for Burkle's wife and by attorneys for the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press.

Paul wrote that, under the statute, "a 100-page pleading filled with legal argument of genuine public interest must be kept sealed if a party's home address appears even in a footnote."

If I had known about the statute, I would have put my home address in some footnotes. (Actually, I think my home address is on all the court papers already.)