Court OKs access to church records
But rejects case of two Muslims at Guantánamo
By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff
April 18, 2006

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court yesterday cleared the way for prosecutors to obtain sex-abuse records from the Catholic Church, a decision that could affect hundreds of cases in which priests have been accused of molesting children.

Also, in a Boston-related case, the court rejected a request that it hear an appeal by two Chinese Muslim prisoners at Guantánamo Bay who maintain they should be freed, saying the case should be heard by a lower court first.

The Catholic Church and Guantánamo cases headlined a slew of cases the Supreme Court rejected yesterday as it did some spring-cleaning of its inbox.

In the child molestation case, the court turned down an appeal by the archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, and two unnamed priests who wanted to block a subpoena for internal church records. the rest