This case presents the question whether the District Court for the District of Columbia should release to respondents certain tapes admitted into evidence in the trial of petitioner's former advisers. Respondents wish to copy the tapes for broadcasting and sale to the public. The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held that the District Court's refusal to permit immediate copying of the tapes was an abuse of discretion. United States v. Mitchell, 179 U.S.App.D.C. 293, 551 F.2d 1252 (1976). We granted certiorari, 430 U.S. 944, 97 S.Ct. 1578, 51 L.Ed.2d 791 (1977), and for the reasons that follow, we reverse.

* On July 16, 1973, testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities revealed that petitioner, then President of the United States, had maintained a system for tape recording conversations in the White House Oval Office and in his private office in the Executive Office Building. Hearings on Watergate and Related Activities Before the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities, 93d Cong., 1st Sess., 2074-2076 (1973). A week later, the Watergate Special Prosecutor issued a subpoena duces tecum directing petitioner to produce before a federal grand jury tape recordings of eight meetings and one telephone conversation recorded in petitioner's offices. When petitioner refused to comply with the subpoena, the District Court for the District of Columbia ordered production of the recordings. In re Subpoena to Nixon, 360 F.Supp. 1, aff'd sub nom. Nixon v. Sirica, 159 U.S.App.D.C. 58, 487 F.2d 700 (1973). In November 1973, petitioner submitted seven of the nine subpoenaed recordings and informed the Office of the Special Prosecutor that the other two were missing.

On March 1, 1974, the grand jury indicted seven individuals1 for, among other things, conspiring to obstruct justice in connection with the investigation of the 1972 burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters. In preparation for this trial, styled United States v. Mitchell,2 the Special Prosecutor, on April 18, 1974, issued a second subpoena duces tecum, directing petitioner to produce tape recordings and documents relating to some 64 additional Presidential meetings and conversations. The District Court denied petitioner's motions to quash. United States v. Mitchell, 377 F.Supp. 1326 (1974). This Court granted certiorari before judgment in the Court of Appeals and affirmed. United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974). In accordance with our decision, the subpoenaed tapes were turned over to the District Court for in camera inspection. The court arranged to have copies made of the relevant and admissible portions. It retained one copy and gave the other to the Special Prosecutor.3

The trial began on October 1, 1974, before Judge Sirica. During its course, some 22 hours of taped conversations were played for the jury and the public in the courtroom. The reels of tape containing conversations played for the jury were entered into evidence. The District Court furnished the jurors, reporters, and members of the public in attendance with earphones and with transcripts prepared by the Special Prosecutor. The transcripts were not admitted as evidence, but were widely reprinted in the press.

Six weeks after the trial had begun, respondent broadcasters4 filed a motion before Judge Sirica, seeking permission to copy, broadcast, and sell to the public the portions of the tapes played at trial. Petitioner opposed the application. Because United States v. Mitchell was consuming all of Judge Sirica's time, this matter was transferred to Judge Gesell.

On December 5, 1974, Judge Gesell held that a common-law privilege of public access to judicial records permitted respondents to obtain copies of exhibits in the custody of the clerk, including the tapes in question. United States v. Mitchell, 386 F.Supp. 639, 641. Judge Gesell minimized petitioner's opposition to respondents' motion, declaring that neither his alleged property interest in the tapes nor his asserted executive privilege sufficed to prevent release of recordings already publicly aired and available, in transcription, to the world at large. Id., at 642. Judge Gesell cautioned, however, against "overcommercialization of the evidence." Id., at 643. And because of potential administrative and mechanical difficulties, he prohibited copying until the trial was over. Ibid. He requested that the parties submit proposals for access and copying procedures that would minimize overcommercialization and administrative inconvenience at that time. Ibid. In an order of January 8, 1975, Judge Gesell rejected respondents' joint proposals as insufficient. Id., at 643-644. Noting the close of the Mitchell trial, he transferred the matter back to Judge Sirica.

On April 4, 1975, Judge Sirica denied without prejudice respondents' petitions for immediate access to the tapes. United States v. Mitchell, 397 F.Supp. 186. Observing that all four men convicted in the Mitchell trial had filed notices of appeal, he declared that their rights could be prejudiced if the petitions were granted. Immediate access to the tapes might "result in the manufacture of permanent phonograph records and tape recordings, perhaps with commentary by journalists or entertainers; marketing of the tapes would probably involve mass merchandising techniques designed to generate excitement in an air of ridicule to stimulate sales." Id., at 188. Since release of the transcripts had apprised the public of the tapes' contents, the public's "right to know" did not, in Judge Sirica's view, overcome the need to safeguard the defendants' rights on appeal. Id., at 188-189. Judge Sirica also noted the passage of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act (Presidential Recordings Act), 88 Stat. 1695, note following 44 U.S.C. § 2107 (1970 ed., Supp. V),5 and the duty thereunder of the Administrator of General Services (Administrator) to submit to Congress regulations governing access to Presidential tapes in general. Under the proposed regulations then before Congress,6 public distribution of copies would be delayed for 41/2 years. Although Judge Sirica doubted that the Act covered the copies at issue here, he viewed the proposed regulations as suggesting that immediate release was not of overriding importance. 397 F.Supp., at 189.

The Court of Appeals reversed. United States v. Mitchell, 179 U.S.App.D.C. 293, 551 F.2d 1252 (1976). It stressed the importance of the common-law privilege to inspect and copy judicial records and assigned to petitioner the burden of proving that justice required limitations on the privilege. In the court's view, the mere possibility of prejudice to defendants' rights in the event of a retrial did not outweigh the public's right of access. Id., at 302-304, 551 F.2d, at 1261-1263. The court concluded that the District Court had "abused its discretion in allowing those diminished interests in confidentiality to interfere with the public's right to inspect and copy the tapes." Id., at 302, 551 F.2d, at 1261. It remanded for the development of a plan of elease, but noted—in apparent contrast to the admonitions of Judge Gesell—that the "court's power to control the uses to which the tapes are put once released . . . is sharply limited by the First Amendment." Id., at 304 n. 52, 551 F.2d, at 1263 n. 52 (emphasis in original). We granted certiorari to review this holding that the common-law right of access to judicial records requires the District Court to release the tapes in its custody.

Both petitioner and respondents acknowledge the existence of a common-law right of access to judicial records, but they differ sharply over its scope and the circumstances warranting restrictions of it. An infrequent subject of litigation, its contours have not been delineated with any precision. Indeed, no case directly in point—that is, addressing the applicability of the common-law right to exhibits subpoenaed from third parties—has been cited or discovered.

It is clear that the courts of this country recognize a general right to inspect and copy public records and documents,7 including judicial records and documents.8 In contrast to the English practice, see, e. g., Browne v. Cumming, 10 B. & C. 70, 109 Eng.Rep. 377 (K.B.1829), American decisions generally do not condition enforcement of this right on a proprietary interest in the document or upon a need for it as evidence in a lawsuit. The interest necessary to support the issuance of a writ compelling access has been found, for example, in the citizen's desire to keep a watchful eye on the workings of public agencies, see, e. g., State ex rel. Colscott v. King, 154 Ind. 621, 621-627, 57 N.E. 535, 536-538 (1900); State ex rel. Ferry v. Williams, 41 N.J.L. 332, 336-339 (1879), and in a newspaper publisher's intention to publish information concerning the operation of government, see, e. g., State ex rel. Youmans v. Owens, 28 Wis.2d 672, 677, 137 N.W.2d 470, 472 (1965), modified on other grounds, 28 Wis.2d 685a, 139 N.W.2d 241 (1966). But see Burton v. Reynolds, 110 Mich. 354, 68 N.W. 217 (1896).

It is uncontested, however, that the right to inspect and copy judicial records is not absolute. Every court has supervisory power over its own records and files, and access has been denied where court files might have become a vehicle for improper purposes. For example, the common-law right of inspection has bowed before the power of a court to insure that its records are not "used to gratify private spite or promote public scandal" through the publication of "the painful and sometimes disgusting details of a divorce case." In re Caswell, 18 R.I. 835, 836, 29 A. 259 (1893). Accord, e. g., C. v. C., 320 A.2d 717, 723, 727 (Del.1974). See also King v. King, 25 Wyo. 275, 168 P. 730 (1917). Similarly, courts have refused to permit their files to serve as reservoirs of libelous statements for press consumption, Park v. Detroit Free Press Co., 72 Mich. 560, 568, 40 N.W. 731, 734-735 (1888); see Cowley v. Pulsifer, 137 Mass. 392, 395 (1884) (per Holmes, J.); Munzer v. Blaisdell, 268 App.Div. 9, 11, 48 N.Y.S.2d 355, 356 (1944); see also Sanford v. Boston Herald-Traveler Corp., 318 Mass. 156, 158, 61 N.E.2d 5, 6 (1945), or as sources of business information that might harm a litigant's competitive standing, see, e. g., Schmedding v. May, 85 Mich. 1, 5-6, 48 N.W. 201, 202 (1891); Flexmir, Inc. v. Herman, 40 A.2d 799, 800 (N.J.Ch.1945).

It is difficult to distill from the relatively few judicial decisions a comprehensive definition of what is referred to as the common-law right of access or to identify all the factors to be weighed in determining whether access is appropriate. The few cases that have recognized such a right do agree that the decision as to access is one best left to the sound discretion of the trial court, a discretion to be exercised in light of the relevant facts and circumstances of the particular case.9 In any event, we need not undertake to delineate precisely the contours of the common-law right, as we assume, arguendo, that it applies to the tapes at issue here.10

Petitioner advances several reasons supporting the exercise of discretion against release of the tapes.11

First, petitioner argues that he has a property interest in the sound of his own voice, an interest that respondents intend to appropriate unfairly.12 In respondents' view, our decision in Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, 433 U.S. 425, 97 S.Ct. 2777, 53 L.Ed.2d 867 (1977), upholding the constitutionality of the President al Recordings Act, divested petitioner of any property rights in the tapes that could be asserted against the general public. Petitioner insists, however, that respondents' point is not fully responsive to his argument. Petitioner is not asserting a proprietary right in the tapes themselves. He likens his interest to that of a third party whose voice is recorded in the course of a lawful wiretap by police officers and introduced into evidence on tape. In petitioner's view, use of one's voice as evidence in a criminal trial does not give rise to a license for commercial exploitation.

Petitioner also maintains that his privacy would be infringed if aural copies of the tapes were distributed to the public.13 The Court of Appeals rejected this contention. It reasoned that with the playing of the tapes in the courtroom, the publication of their contents in the form of written transcripts, and the passage of the Presidential Recordings Act—in which Congress contemplated ultimate public distribution of aural copies—any realistic expectation of privacy disappeared. 179 U.S.App.D.C., at 304-305, 551 F.2d, at 1263-1264. Furthermore, the court ruled that as Presidential documents the tapes were "impressed with the 'public trust' " and not subject to ordinary privacy claims. Id., at 305, 551 F.2d, at 1264. Respondents add that aural reproduction of actual conversations, reflecting nuances and inflections, is a more accurate means of informing the public about this important historical event than a verbatim written transcript. Petitioner disputes this claim of "accuracy," emphasizing that the tapes required 22 hours to be played. If made available for commercial recordings or broadcast by the electronic media, only fractions of the tapes, necessarily taken out of context, could or would be presented. Nor would there be any safeguard, other than the taste of the marketing medium, against distortion through cutting, erasing, and splicing of tapes. There would be strong motivation to titillate as well as to educate listeners. Petitioner insists that this use would infringe his privacy, resulting in embarrassment and anguish to himself and the other persons who participated in private conversations that they had every reason to believe would remain confidential.

Third, petitioner argues that our decision in United States v. Nixon, 418 U.S. 683, 94 S.Ct. 3090, 41 L.Ed.2d 1039 (1974), authorized only the most limited use of subpoenaed Presidential conversations consistent with the constitutional duty of the judiciary to ensure justice in criminal prosecutions. The Court of Appeals concluded, however, that the thrust of our decision in that case was to protect the confidentiality of Presidential conversations that were neither relevant nor admissible in the criminal proceeding; it did not relate to uses of conversations actually introduced into evidence. Since these conversations were no longer confidential, 179 U.S.App.D.C., at 305-306, 551 F.2d, at 1264-1265, Presidential privilege no longer afforded any protection.

Finally, petitioner argues that it would be improper for the courts to facilitate the commercialization of these White House tapes. The court below rejected this argument, holding it a "question of taste" that could not take precedence over the public's right of access. Id., at 306, 551 F.2d, at 1265. Petitioner rejoins that such matters of taste induce courts to deny public access to court files in divorce and libel litigation. See, e. g., In re Caswell, 18 R.I. 835, 29 A. 259 (1893); Munzer v. Blaisdell, 268 App.Div., at 11, 48 N.Y.S.2d, at 356. Moreover, argues petitioner, widespread publication of the transcripts h § satisfied the public's legitimate interests; the marginal gain in information from the broadcast and sale of aural copies is outweighed by the unseemliness of enlisting the court, which obtained these recordings by subpoena for a limited purpose, to serve as the vehicle of their commercial exploitation "at cocktail parties, . . . in comedy acts or dramatic productions, . . . and in every manner that may occur to the enterprising, the imaginative, or the antagonistic recipients of copies." Brief for Petitioner 30.

At this point, we normally would be faced with the task of weighing the interests advanced by the parties in light of the public interest and the duty of the courts.14 On respondents' side of the scales is the incremental gain in public understanding of an immensely important historical occurrence that arguably would flow from the release of aural copies of these tapes, a gain said to be not inconsequential despite the already widespread dissemination of printed transcripts. Also on respondents' side is the presumption—however gauged—in favor of public access to judicial records. On petitioner's side are the arguments identified above, which must be assessed in the context of court custody of the tapes. Underlying each of petitioner's arguments is the crucial fact that respondents require a court's cooperation in furthering their commercial plans. The court—as custodian of tapes obtained by subpoena over the opposition of a sitting President, solely to satisfy "fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of criminal justice," United States v. Nixon, supra, at 713, 94 S.Ct., at 3110—has a responsibility to exercise an informed discretion as to release of the tapes, with a sensitive appreciation of the circumstances that led to their production. This responsibility does not permit copying upon demand. Otherwise, there would exist a danger that the court could become a partner in the use of the subpoenaed material "to gratify private spite or promote public scandal," In re Caswell, supra, at 836, 29 A. 259, with no corresponding assurance of public benefit.

We need not decide how the balance would be struck if the case were resolved only on the basis of the facts and arguments reviewed above. There is in this case an additional, unique element that was neither advanced by the parties nor given appropriate consideration by the courts below. In the Presidential Recordings Act, Congress directed the Administrator of General Services to take custody of petitioner's Presidential tapes and documents. The materials are to be screened by Government archivists so that those private in nature may be returned to petitioner, while those of historical value may be preserved and made available for use in judicial proceedings and, eventually, made accessible to the public. Thus, Congress has created an administrative procedure for processing and releasing to the public, on terms meeting with congressional approval, all of petitioner's Presidential materials of historical interest, including recordings of the conversations at issue here.15 In Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, 433 U.S. 425, 97 S.Ct. 2777, 53 L.Ed.2d 867 (1977), we noted two major objects of the Act. First, it created a centralized custodian for the preservation and "orderly processing" of petitioner's historical materials. Second, it mandated protection of the "rights of [petitioner] and other individuals against infringement by the processing itself or, ultimately, by public access to the materials retained." Id., at 436, 97 S.Ct., at 2787. To these ends, the Act directed the Administrator to formulate regulations that would permit consideration of a number of different factors.16 Thus, the Act provides for legislative and executive appraisal of the most appropriate means of assuring public access to the material, subject to prescribed safeguards. Because of this congressionally prescribed avenue of public access we need not weigh the parties' competing arguments as though the District Court were the only potential source of information regarding these historical materials. The presence of an alternative means of public access tips the scales in favor of denying release.

Respondents argue that immediate release would serve the policies of the Act. The Executive and Legislative Branches, however, possess superior resources for assessing the proper implementation of public access and the competing rights, if any, of the persons whose voices are recorded on the tapes. These resources are to be brought to bear under the Act, and court release of copies of materials subject to the Act might frustrate the achievement of the legislative goals of orderly processing and protection of the rights of all affected persons. Simply stated, the policies of the Act can best be carried out under the Act itself. Indeed, Judge Sirica—as we have noted supra, at 595-596 referred to the scheme established under the Act in assessing the need for immediate release. 397 F.Supp., at 189; cf. United States v. Monjar, 154 F.2d 954 (CA3 1946). But because defendants' appeals were pending, he merely denied respondents' petition without prejudice, contemplating reconsideration after exhaustion of all appeals.17 Thus, he did not have to confront the question whether the existence of the Act is, as we hold, a decisive element in the proper exercise of discretion with respect to release of the tapes.

We emphasize that we are addressing only the application in this case of the common-law right of access to judicial records. We do not presume to decide any issues as to the proper exercise of the Administrator's independent duty under the statutory standards. He remains free, subject to congressional disapproval, to design such procedures for public access as he believes will advance the policies of the Act.18 Questions concerning the constitutionality and statutory validity of any access scheme finally implemented are for future consideration in appropriate proceedings. See Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, 433 U.S., at 438-439, 444-446, 450, 455, 462, 464-465, 467, 97 S.Ct., at 2787-2788, 2790-2791, 2793, 2799, 2800-2801, 2802, 2820-2821; id., at 503-504, 97 S.Ct., at 2820-2821 (POWELL, J., concurring).

Considering all the circumstances of this concededly singular case, we hold that the common-law right of access to judicial records does not authorize release of the tapes in question from the custody of the District Court. We next consider whether, as respondents claim, the Constitution impels us to reach a different result.

Respondents argue that release of the tapes is required by both the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press and the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a public trial. Neither supports respondents' conclusion.

In Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469, 95 S.Ct. 1029, 43 L.Ed.2d 328 (1975), this Court held that the First Amendment prevented a State from prohibiting the press from publishing the name of a rape victim where that information had been placed "in the public domain on official court records." Id., at 495, 95 S.Ct., at 1046. Respondents claim that Cox Broadcasting guarantees the press "access" to meaning the right to copy and publish—exhibits and materials displayed in open court.

This argument misconceives the holding in Cox Broadcasting. Our decision in that case merely affirmed the right of the press to publish accurately information contained in court records open to the public. Since the press serves as the information-gathering agent of the public, it could not be prevented from reporting what it had learned and what the public was entitled to know. Id., at 491-492, 95 S.Ct. at 1044-1045. In the instant case, however, there is no claim that the press was precluded from publishing or utilizing as it saw fit the testimony and exhibits filed in evidence. There simply were no restrictions upon press access to, or publication of any information in the public domain. Indeed, the press—including reporters of the electronic media—was permitted to listen to the tapes and report on what was heard. Reporters also were furnished transcripts of the tapes, which they were free to comment upon and publish. The contents of the tapes were given wide publicity by all elements of the media. There is no question of a truncated flow of information to the public. Thus, the issue presented in this case is not whether the press must be permitted access to public information to which the public generally is guaranteed access, but whether these copies of the White House tapes—to which the public has never had physical access—must be made available for copying. Our decision in Cox Broadcasting simply is not applicable.

The First Amendment generally grants the press no right to information about a trial superior to that of the general public. "Once beyond the confines of the courthouse, a news-gathering agency may publicize, within wide limits, what its representatives have heard and seen in the courtroom. But the line is drawn at the courthouse door; and within, a reporter's constitutional rights are no greater than those of any other member of the public." Estes v. Texas, 381 U.S. 532, 589, 85 S.Ct. 1628, 1663, 14 L.Ed.2d 543 (1965) (Harlan, J., concurring). Cf. Saxbe v. Washington Post Co., 417 U.S. 843, 94 S.Ct. 2811, 41 L.Ed.2d 514 (1974); Pell v. Procunier, 417 U.S. 817, 94 S.Ct. 2800, 41 L.Ed.2d 495 (1974). See also Zemel v. Rusk, 381 U.S. 1, 16-17, 85 S.Ct. 1271, 1280-1281, 14 L.Ed.2d 179 (1965).

Respondents contend that release of the tapes is required by the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a public trial.19 They acknowledge that the trial at which these tapes were played was one of the most publicized in history, but argue that public understanding of it remains incomplete in the absence of the ability to listen to the tapes and form judgments as to their meaning based on inflection and emphasis.

In the first place, this argument proves too much. The same could be said of the testimony of a live witness, yet there is no constitutional right to have such testimony recorded and broadcast. Estes v. Texas, supra, 381 U.S., at 539-542, 85 S.Ct., at 1631-1632. Second, while the guarantee of a public trial, in the words of Mr. Justice Black, is "a safeguard against any attempt to employ our courts as instruments of persecution," In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257, 270, 68 S.Ct. 499, 506, 92 L.Ed. 682 (1948), it confers no special benefit on the press. Estes v. Texas, 381 U.S., at 583, 85 S.Ct., at 1653 (Warren, C. J., concurring); id., at 588-589, 85 S.Ct., at 1662-1663 (Harlan, J., concurring). Nor does the Sixth Amendment require that the trial—or any part of it be broadcast live or on tape to the public. The requirement of a public trial is satisfied by the opportunity of members of the public and the press to attend the trial and to report what they have observed. Ibid. That opportunity abundantly existed he e.

We hold that the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the District Court's decision not to release the tapes in its custody. We remand the case with directions that an order be entered denying respondents' application with prejudice.20

So ordered.

Mr. Justice WHITE, with whom Mr. Justice BRENNAN joins, dissenting in part.

Although I agree with the Court that the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act is dispositive of this case and that the judgment of the Court of Appeals should be reversed, my reasons are somewhat different, for I do not agree that the Act does not itself reach the tapes at issue here. It is true that § 101(a) of the Act requires delivery to the Administrator and his retention of only original tape recordings and hence does not reach the tapes involved here. But § 101(b) is differently cast:

"(b)(1) Notwithstanding any other law or any agreement or understanding made pursuant to section 2107 of title 44, United States Code, the Administrator shall receive, retain, or make reasonable efforts to obtain, complete possession and control of all papers, documents, memorandums, transcripts, and other objects and materials which constitute the Presidential historical materials of Richard M. Nixon, covering the period beginning January 20, 1969, and ending August 9, 1974.

"(2) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'historical materials' has the meaning given it by section 2101 of title 44, United States Code."

"Historical materials" is defined in 44 U.S.C. § 2101 as "including books, correspondence, documents, papers, pamphlets, works of art, models, pictures, photographs, plats, maps, films, motion pictures, sound recordings, and other objects or materials having historical or commemorative value."

Obviously, § 101(b) has a far broader sweep than § 101(a). It is not limited to originals but would reach copies as well. Nor is there any question that the tapes sought to be released here contain conversations that occurred during the critical period covered by § 101(b)—January 20, 1969, to August 9, 1974. That the tapes at issue are copies made at a later time does not remove the critical fact that the conversations on these copies, like the conversations on the originals, occurred during the relevant period. Furthermore, if the originals are of historical value, the copies are of equal significance. Otherwise, it is unlikely that there would be such an effort to obtain them.

Of course, the Administrator under the Presidential Recordings Act is not compelled to seek out every copy of every document or recording that was itself produced during the specified period of time. But surely he is authorized to receive the tapes at issue in this case and to deal with them under the terms of the statute.

It is my view, therefore, that the judgment of the Court of Appeals should be reversed, but that the case should be remanded to the District Court with instructions to deliver the tapes in question to the Administrator forthwith.

Mr. Justice MARSHALL, dissenting.

As the court below found, respondents here are "seek[ing to vindicate a precious common law right, one that predates the Constitution itself." United States v. Mitchell, 179 U.S.App.D.C. 293, 301, 551 F.2d 1252, 1260 (1976). The Court today recognizes this right and assumes that it is applicable here. Ante, at 598-599, and n. 11. It also recognizes that the court with custody of the records must have substantial discretion in making the decision regarding access. Ante, at 599.

The Court nevertheless holds that, contrary to the rulings below, respondents should be denied access to significant materials in which there is wide public interest. The Court finds "decisive" the existence of the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act. Ante, at 607. The Act, however, by its express terms covers only "original tape recordings," § 101(a), and it is undisputed that the tapes at issue here are copies, see ante, at 593-594 n. 3, 603-604 n. 15. Indeed, in a commendable display of candor, petitioner has conceded that the Act does not apply. Supplemental Brief for Petitioner 2.

Nothing in the Act's history suggests that Congress intended the courts to defer to the Executive Branch with regard to these tapes. To the contrary, the Administrator of General Services had to defer to the District Court's "expertise" in order to secure congressional approval of regulations promulgated under the Act. See post, at 616, and n. 5 (STEVENS, J., dissenting). It is clear, moreover, that Congress intended the Act to ensure "the American people . . . full access to all facts about the Watergate affair." S.Rep. No. 93-1181, p. 4 (1974).

Hence the Presidential Recordings Act, to the extent that it provides any assistance in deciding this case, strongly indicates that the tapes should be released to the public as directed by the Court of Appeals. While petitioner may well be "a legitimate class of one," Nixon v. Administrator of General Services, 433 U.S. 425, 472, 97 S.Ct. 2777, 2805, 53 L.Ed.2d 867 (1977), we are obligated to adhere to the historic role of the Judiciary on this matter that both sides concede should be ours to resolve. I dissent.

Mr. Justice STEVENS, dissenting.

The question whether a trial judge has properly exercised his discretion in releasing copies of trial exhibits arises infrequently. It is essentially a question to be answered by reference to the circumstances of a particular case. Only an egregious abuse of discretion should merit reversal; and when the District Court1 and the Court of Appeals2 have concurred, the burden of justifying review by this Court should be virtually insurmountable. Today's decision represents a dramatic departure from the practice appellate courts should observe with respect to a trial court's exercise of discretion concerning its own housekeeping practices.

There is, of course, an important and legitimate public interest in protecting the dignity of the Presidency, and petitioner has a real interest in avoiding the harm associated with further publication of his taped conversations. These interests are largely eviscerated, however, by the fact that these trial exhibits are already entirely in the public domain. Moreover, the normal presumption in favor of access is strongly reinforced by the special characteristics of this litigation. The conduct of the trial itself, as well as the conduct disclosed by the evidence, is a subject of great historical interest. Full understanding of this matter may affect the future operation of our institutions. The distinguished trial judge, who was intimately familiar with the ramifications of this case and its place in history, surely struck the correct balance.

Today the Court overturns the d cisions of the District Court and the Court of Appeals by giving conclusive weight to the Presidential Recordings and Materials Preservation Act, 88 Stat. 1695.3 That Act, far from requiring the District Court to suppress these tapes, manifests Congress' settled resolve "to provide as much public access to the materials as is physically possible as quickly as possible."4 It is therefore not surprising that petitioner responded to the Court's post-argument request for supplemental briefs by expressly disavowing any reliance on the Presidential Recordings Act. Nor is there any reason to require the District Court to defer to the expertise of the Administrator of General Services, for the Administrator gained congressional approval of his regulations only by deferring to the expertise displayed by the District Court in this case.5 For this Court now to rely on the Act as a basis for reversing the trial judge's considered judgment is ironic, to put it mildly.

I respectfully dissent.