The arrests that proceeded from the events of September 11, 2001 have been shrouded in secrecy. But the extent of closed-door court proceedings, including thousands of domestic criminal cases has been kept under wraps until now. The Associated Press has conducted an exhaustive study of sealed US federal court records using data supplied by the Administrative Office of the US Courts.

A synopsis with links to sources can be found at Paper Chase.

Meanwhile, hundreds of civil cases in Washington state are disappearing from the dockets, or never recorded, according to a report by the Seattle Times.

And there’s more. A US congressional committee wants to know why declassified documents housed at the National Archives have been withdrawn from public access.

Are your local courts using this stealth tactic to disappear public records?