From Techdirt:
[S]everal news organizations have begun a coordinated push to have the Bradley Manning court-martial "opened up" to allow the general public to access motions, briefs and rulings. The military refused (of course), inviting the press to entertain itself with near-useless FOIA requests, a clunky form of "openness" prone to inexplicable (and endless) delays when not being ignored completely.Fortunately, the military appeals court has taken this plea for openness more seriously than the government itself, which seems to treat it as an unwelcome nuisance at best. On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF) began looking into allegations that the government has violated First and Sixth Amendment rights in regards to free press and public trials by making all filings and transcripts inaccessible.The CAAF had little patience with the government's insistent obfuscation but seemed unsure as to whether it could actually force a change …