In a scene Friday that echoed a plot line from the film Minority Report, CPCS defense attorney Ethan Yankowicz moved that a charge against his client should be dismissed on grounds the state would essentially be criminalizing a state of mind.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court today ruled in favor of OpenCourt’s ability to video record, stream and archive public court proceedings online, writing that restricting rights to publish would violate First Amendment press protections.

Arrested for larceny in 2010, Sheehan was offered an alternative to prison time. Called drug court, it’s a strict 18-month rehabilitation program that would require living in a halfway house with a curfew, as well as submitting to regular drug testing and counseling, and appearing weekly before Quincy District Court Judge Diane Moriarty. Story includes extra audio.

Quincy District Court was always meant to be a test-bed to discover new ways to cover the court system, and we’re taking steps towards the next phase of expansion.

The notes from last month’s experiment are, at the least, a compelling glance at the river of data flowing through our local courts every single day. At best, they offer a new angle on approaching larger questions: how do we get to a place where public court data is more accessible?