Defense lawyers protest DOJ secrecy in leak prosecution

09/19/12: The Blog of Legal Times reports that the defendants in a leak case in Washington are challenging the Justice Department’s recent filing of confidential court papers in the case, saying that the Government should be required to justify the secrecy.  Prosecutors handling the case against Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a former State Department contractor who is charged with disclosing classified information to a reporter, recently filed court papers in the chambers of US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.  Kim has asked the District Court to require the Government to explain why the defense should be kept in the dark after more than two years of litigation.  “The adversary process is the cornerstone of the American system of justice,” defense counsel said in a court filing Monday.  “Courts routinely disfavor ex parte proceedings.”