In the hours after the horrific Aurora theater shootings, law enforcement authorities were reasonably frank in telling the public what had happened.
All that came to a screeching halt when the criminal case for the alleged shooter hit the court system.
The case is proceeding under such sweeping secrecy rules that the public cannot even see the case docket, which is akin to a table of contents. The orders have gone far beyond the typical “gag order.”
That is why The Denver Post and other media outlets filed a motion Friday asking the judge in the case to reconsider the information lockdown and allow public inspection of routine court documents.
The secrecy in the case has been disturbing. Mandating that the University of Colorado, for instance, not release any records regarding the shooting suspect, James Eagan Holmes, is a step too far and one that appears unprecedented.
Ordering detectives and evidence technicians who are investigating the case to keep their mouths closed about what they’ve found is one thing. Telling an outside entity that has nothing to do with law enforcement to ignore public records laws is entirely another. It is unclear whether District Judge William Blair Sylvester even has the authority to do that.
But that’s not the only disconcerting element of the shroud of secrecy that has descended on this case.
The veil the court system has dropped on routine proceedings is so impenetrable, the public cannot even see the titles of the motions and other actions filed in the case, much less the contents.
We understand from those sitting in the courtroom recently that the defense has filed at least 10 motions in the case. Try to find an official written record of them. The only way the public has any inkling they exist is because the judge mentioned them.
That degree of secrecy is very unusual. Typically, a judge will consider such requests individually. If, for instance, the release of a particular document might be considered prejudicial to the defendant, its contents might remain under seal though the public could at least see its title.
Unfortunately, the penchant for secrecy orders in the 18th Judicial District, where this case is proceeding, is nothing new. There seems to be an unusual appetite for silence about cases being prosecuted by the office of District Attorney Carol Chambers.
We understand very well the importance of prosecuting this case properly in light of intense public interest. But this is not the first important prosecution ever to face such challenges. Countless high-interest cases have proceeded successfully through the nation’s court systems with their written proceedings available to the public and without broad suppression orders that go beyond law enforcement.
This nation has a vaunted judicial system, one built on fairness and transparency, and this case should honor those laws and traditions.
