PRIVATE HEARING SOUGHT FOR NOELLE BUSH

Crime: a Judge Is Asked to Close the Drug Court Proceedings for Florida
Governor's Daughter. but an Attorney for Newspapers Says There's No
'Celebrity Exception.'

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An attorney for Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter asked a
judge Tuesday to close her drug court proceedings, arguing that she
has a right to privacy while under that court's supervision.

Drug courts help a person complete treatment and aren't subject to the
same openness as criminal courts, lawyer Peter Antonacci argued.

However, an attorney for the Orlando Sentinel and the South Florida
Sun-Sentinel newspapers said drug courts are no different than any
other criminal court and should stay open.

"This decides whether she goes to jail or not," said Jonathan Kaney,
an attorney who specializes in 1st Amendment issues. He said there is
no "celebrity exception to the rule of openness in court."

The judge didn't say when he would make a decision.

Noelle Bush, 25, was arrested in January for allegedly buying an
anti-anxiety drug with a fraudulent prescription. She sought treatment
through a drug court, but she could face criminal charges if she fails
to complete the treatment.

In July, she spent two days in jail for allegedly possessing a
prescription drug.

Last month, police were called to her treatment center in Orlando
after another patient said Bush had crack cocaine.

Speaking to reporters in Tallahassee, the governor said drug courts
should be protected from public scrutiny.

"At a point in time, people can be looked at as though they're failing
when in fact if you look at it over the long haul, they're on the road
to recovery," he said.

Carolyn Cooper, associate director of the Drug Court Clearinghouse at
American University in Washington, said she had never heard of a drug
court hearing being closed to the public. Neither had Karen
Freeman-Wilson, chief executive of the National Assn. of Drug Court
Professionals in Washington.

If the judge rules in favor of Noelle Bush, it would go against the
grain of the 1st Amendment, because court proceedings are closed to
the public only under rare circumstances, said Bruce J. Winick, a law
professor at the University of Miami.

"Our tradition is one of openness," he said. "What happens in a
courtroom is of strong public interest."