Media pushing for access to trial exhibits
Judge presiding in alleged cover-up case pushes back
A Cook County judge held off Wednesday on deciding whether to publicly release trial exhibits until more than two weeks after she is scheduled to announce the fate of three Chicago cops charged with covering up Laquan McDonald’s shooting.
Associate Judge Domenica Stephenson sharply questioned and repeatedly interrupted attorneys for several media organizations who sought the documents on First Amendment grounds, wondering aloud why they thought the issue was so urgent as to file an “emergency” motion last week during the trial.
“The exhibits were testified (to) in open court,” she said. “There’s no right of the public to have a (television) monitor that flashes or shows the exhibits to the gallery. … Even allowing the media’s presence in the courtroom is not a right. It’s a privilege. I don’t understand where you’re coming from.”
Attorneys for the media organizations argued that documents admitted into evidence at trial are a matter of public record. There is no need to shield them from view now that the trial has all but concluded except for Stephenson’s ruling on the officers’ guilt or innocence, they said.
Attorney Kristen Rodriguez, representing the Chicago Tribune, told the judge that the failure to publicly display the evidence was “effectively closing down a part of the trial.”
“The exhibits as they were being discussed and entered into the evidence were not presented to the press, which functions (as) the eyes and ears of the public,” she said.
But the judge expressed frustration that the request was being made at all, saying that the evidence was introduced to the public through the testimony of witnesses and that she is the only person who examines the actual documents.
Rodriguez urged the judge to release the exhibits and transcripts now, saying it would help the public and press to better understand the high-profile case before Stephenson’s scheduled ruling Dec. 19.
“This is a time when it is right for the public and the press to distill and understand what exactly happened in this trial,” she said.
Over the attorneys’ objections, Stephenson said she would not decide on their request until Jan. 3.
In recent weeks, Stephenson presided over the trial of three current or former Chicago police officers on charges they conspired to protect then-Officer Jason Van Dyke in the hours and days after he shot 17-year-old McDonald 16 times.
Ex-Detective David March, former Officer Joseph Walsh and Officer Thomas Gaffney face charges of conspiracy, obstructing justice and official misconduct.
Stephenson, who allowed cameras in the courtroom for the trial, briefly permitted a monitor to display exhibits that had been admitted into evidence so that viewers of the live video feed could observe the same documents and videos as witnesses testified about them.
Stephenson explained her about-face by saying there could be sensitive personal information in the documents that should not be public. But the ban meant none of the exhibits — whether they contained sensitive information or not — were displayed on the live feed. During the trial, Stephenson also denied the media access to transcripts of sidebars — discussions between the attorneys and the judge that were conducted on the record but away from public view.
Special prosecutor Patricia Brown Holmes took no position on the issue, but the attorneys for the three officers objected to the release of the evidence.
Stephenson’s approach stood in contrast to Van Dyke’s televised trial, which ended with a jury’s historic verdict finding the veteran officer guilty on seconddegree murder and aggravated battery charges. The evidence was displayed on large screens in Judge Vincent Gaughan’s courtroom so spectators in the audience and viewers watching the live TV feed could view exhibits and videos.