Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Re: Altering a Court Document

I am assuming that transcript in question was from a proceeding in open court. If the transcript is of a deposition or from a matter that occured in a "closed" courtroom, then the manner in which you obtained the transcript would have to be looked at, and this answer does not apply.

If this is a transcript from an open proceeding, then it is a public document and there is nothing that you neeed to do before publishing it. You can use the names of the parties if you wish, assuming again that their true names were used in the transcript in open court. You can redact the names if you wish, but are not obligated to do so.

In essence, what you are doing is covered under New York law by Civil Rights Law Section 74, which states that:

"A civil action cannot be maintained against any person, firm or corporation, for the publication of a fair and true report of any judicial proceeding, legislative proceeding or other official proceeding, or for any heading of the report which is a fair and true headnote of the statement published.

This section does not apply to a libel contained in any other matter added by any person concerned in the publication; or in the report of anything said or done at the time and place of such a proceeding which was not a part thereof."