Reports of compliance monitors retained in accordance with corporate settlements have generally been kept out of public view – until now. Finding that a compliance monitor’s report is a judicial record and the public has a First Amendment right to see it, Judge John Gleeson of the Eastern District of New York granted, in large part, the pro se request of an HSBC mortgage customer to unseal the first annual report of the compliance monitor HSBC retained in connection with its $1.9 billion settlement with the DOJ. The matter is stayed pending appeal. A similar case is pending in the D.C. District, where 100Reporters has asked for the Siemens monitor report stemming from that FCPA enforcement action. See also “How to Find a Business-Minded Compliance Monitor and Minimize Reporting Requirements When Negotiating an FCPA Settlement (Part One of Three)” (Feb. 20, 2013); Part Two (Mar. 6, 2013); Part Three (Mar. 20, 2013).