Judge denies lawyer’s request to close court

GLENWOOD SPRINGS » A Garfield County judge on Wednesday declined to close a hearing for the 13year-old boy accused of shooting a yellow Labrador retriever in a neighborhood near Carbondale, denying his lawyer’s emotional plea that allowing the public and reporters in the room would cause “tremendous harm” to the teen.

The boy, who has been held at the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center since his arrest on Jan. 24, was advised that he faces charges including aggravated cruelty to animals, second-degree burglary of a dwelling, theft, possession of a handgun by a juvenile and third-degree criminal trespass. He is being charged as a juvenile.

While the advisement portion of the hearing lasted just a few minutes, much of the near half-hour hearing concerned the Public Defender’s Office’s efforts to close the hearing to the public, in particular the media.

Public defender Elise Myer argued that allowing reporters access to the juvenile’s hearing would only inflame the court of public opinion. She called some online comments about the juvenile “hate speech” and said further media attention would incite additional vitriol.

“The comments on The Aspen Times website are horrific. Horrific,” she said, her voice trembling. “I might get emotional, truly. We’re talking about a child.”

Myer handed the judge printed copies of the online comments, noting that one referred to the boy as a “person in training to be a serial murderer.”

The juvenile’s court-appointed guardian agreed the hearing should be closed. Prosecutor Tony Hershey argued that closing the hearing would only escalate speculation about the case.

“There are crazy people posting things. I don’t control that, but I think it’s the light of day, the First Amendment shining in this courtroom, that informs the people who are working today and can’t be here and go, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize he was 13. I didn’t realize he was a juvenile,'” Hershey said.

Metzger sided with Hershey, saying he would keep the hearing open because it was the defendant’s first appearance and few details would be made public about the allegations.

Myer said she would file a motion for a protection order to keep future hearings closed.