Other sites where people can rate law enforcement for their professionalism have been criticized for exposing officers to ridicule and harassment. "The bottom line is we provide the forum. The site has survived because of free speech protections, he said. "Law enforcement isn't bad, in our view," he said. The site seeks to expose people who "rat on a business associates, friends, or family members just to save themselves," said Chris Brown, spokesman. He has turned the Web site over to family and friends to run. was started four years ago by Sean Bucci, a Massachusetts marijuana trafficker recently sentenced to 12 1/2 years in prison. Authorities point out that a plea deal is not necessarily proof that someone is an informant or plans to testify against another defendant. Some plea agreements are sealed while some are not. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater in Dallas.Ī local decision is expected by June. Local federal court officials have not decided what changes to make in the handling of plea agreements, "but we start from the presumption that it is a public record," said Chief U.S. The decision came after plea agreements downloaded from the court's nationwide Public Access to Court Electronic Records system, or PACER, began showing up on the Web site. District Courts take steps to seal information about whether a defendant has cooperated with authorities. Last week, the policymaking arm of the nation's federal judiciary stopped short of mandating that plea agreements no longer be made public, but recommended that all 94 U.S. For a montly fee, the Web site gives users information on police informants and undercover officers. So it's no wonder that Who's a Rat - a Web site that specializes in making those names public - has aggravated authorities and could lead to a clamp-down by the federal courts over public access to some criminal case files. DALLAS - The identities of confidential informants and undercover agents are the most sought after information in the criminal underworld, and the most protected at all levels of law enforcement.
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