On Wednesday, a Los Angeles County judge has rejected the appeal of Sumner Redstone's attorneys to keep the public from the trial.
According to Deadline, next month's trial over who controls Sumner Redstone's health care will be available to public and media as Judge David Cowan ruled. However, the judge said "Just because there is a trial doesn't mean all his medical records should end up on the Internet." He asserted that the country have open trials unlike Russia. Moreover, he argued that it is not practical to partially seal the trial as the lawyers requested. He also added that the trial will be "dignified and will focus on the legal issues and try not to get distracted by things that are undignified."
LA Times reported that the ruling of Judge Cowan is viewed as victory by members of the media and investors who argued that proceedings should be made public. Jean Paul Jassy, lawyer for Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter, said the plan submitted by Redstone's lawyers will bar the public's right to attend the trial.
The trial was set by Redstone's former companion Manuela Herzer who is currently his healthcare agent. Herzer's argument says that Redstone lacks the mental competency to remove her from his advance healthcare directive last October.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Herzer's lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, issued a statement saying "As we state in our papers, 'sunlight is the best disinfectant' and it is in Mr. Redstone's interest that his competency be evaluated in an open trial rather than behind closed doors." They added that he must be served with a notice to appear at trial.
A hearing is set on Monday afternoon to decide whether Redstone will give a testimony. The trial is scheduled on May 6, 2016. Cowan agreed if the parties can pare down their witness lists, he'll offer them two more days of trial, on May 13 and May 16.
