A Charlottesville judge ruled against several news organizations seeking access to a court order that sealed records related to an investigation of murder suspect George Huguely V.
Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Higgins dismissed a petition filed by three newspapers and the Associated Press that would have disclosed the court’s sealing order and explained why search warrants of Huguely’s apartment were kept confidential.
The news organizations had hoped to then overturn the order and unseal the warrants.
Higgins said she threw out the case because the news organizations misplaced their challenge. She said they should have targeted the sealing “proceeding” — which she defined as the “act” of ordering the sealing — rather than the sealing document itself.
Former U.S. attorney Joe diGenova said Higgins’ ruling reflects poorly on the judicial system.
“If there are reasons they cannot disclose the order, they really have a responsbility to say that rather than, ‘You asked the wrong question,’ ” he said. “There is no reason in the world that cannot be said.”
It’s not uncommon for courts to seal documents related to a criminal investigation, said Steven Silverman, a Baltimore criminal defense lawyer.
He said sealing such documents protects the integrity of the investigation.
Prosecutors may seal warrants to keep a suspect in the dark for as long as possible, and defense lawyers may use sealing to prevent a potential jury pool from being tainted.
Huguely, a University of Virginia lacrosse player, was arrested May 3 in the beating death of his one-time girlfriend, 22-year-old Yeardley Love. Huguely was charged with first-degree murder hours after police found Love’s bloodied body in her Charlottesville bedroom. Less than 24 hours later, search warrants for Huguely’s apartment — and all other documents relating to the investigation — were sealed in the Charlottesville court.
Huguely’s lawyers said they did not order the sealing.
Charlottesville prosecutor Dave Chapman declined to comment on anything regarding Huguely’s case until his trial — for which no date has been set. A preliminary hearing is set for June 10.
