[JURIST] A judge in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] ruled [petitioner press release] on Tuesday that the government must unseal most of the grand jury testimony from the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg espionage case [trial transcript, PDF; JURIST backgrounder]. In January, George Washington University's National Security Archive petitioned the court [text, PDF; memorandum, PDF] for the release of the transcripts, arguing that "The overwhelming historical interest outweighs any secrecy interests that may have survived." The government responded [brief, PDF] in June:

The Government does not dispute that the Rosenberg atomic spy trial is a case of significant historical importance within the meaning of the "special circumstances" exception, and does not oppose the entry of an Order unsealing the grand jury testimony of those Rosenberg grand jury witnesses who are deceased or who consent to disclosure, i.e. 35 of the 45 witnesses who testified before the grand jury. The Government, however, opposes disclosure of the testimony of the remaining witnesses who either: (1) object to disclosure; or (2) are not deceased and cannot be located to determine their position on disclosure. As to these witnesses, the public's forward looking interest in ensuring that future grand jury witnesses are not dissuaded from coming forward and testifying in high profile cases trumps the need for disclosure at this time.