Judge grants public access to criminal case filed against an Enid attorney

Grady County District Judge Richard Van Dyck on Tuesday granted the Enid News & Eagle's request to unseal court records of a felony perjury charge filed and later dismissed against Enid attorney Eric Edwards.
 
"The court finds the newspaper has a First Amendment right to publish the news as it finds it," Van Dyck said. "The public needs to know what its elected officials are up to. The public has a right to know."
 
Van Dyck also rejected requests by Edwards' attorney, Stephen Jones, to close Tuesday's hearing to the public, the Enid News & Eagle reported.
 
The newspaper did not receive the case records from the Major County court clerk Tuesday afternoon because Van Dyck’s order unsealing it had not been received.
 
District Judge Ray Dean Linder had sealed the case the day the charge was filed in May.
 
The 71-year-old judge gave no reason other than he was the judge in the case and "because in my professional opinion it deserved to be sealed." Linder also told the newspaper at the time that the case would "remain sealed until I say it shouldn't be sealed."
 
The Oklahoma Supreme Court reassigned the case from Linder to Van Dyck in June. Major County District Attorney Hollis Thorp also recused his office from the matter, so prosecution was assigned to Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater.
 
Van Dyck dismissed the charge against Edwards in July after Prater said the case lacked merit.
 
The Enid News & Eagle filed motions to intervene in the case for the purpose of filing a motion to unseal the case record and to lift Linder's order sealing the case.
 
News & Eagle Publisher Jeff Funk raised serious questions about why Linder had become involved in the case and said the manner in which the case was sealed gave the impression of partiality and undue secrecy.
 
"It looks like preferential treatment for Edwards, an attorney, to have a criminal charge against him kept confidential even though charges against all other adults are handled in open court," Funk said. "Our objection is to the secrecy of this case, and we want the court to declare this secrecy, this special treatment, unlawful and wrong."
 
Van Dyck said he was "very aware and very mindful of any appearance of impropriety." He also said the public's interest in knowing the truth was greater than the need to keep the records sealed, which would only "heighten suspicions," the newspaper reported.
 
Prater said he had no objection to the newspaper intervening. "It does appear this case should be unsealed," he told Van Dyck.
 
After Van Dyck's decision, Funk said he hopes "other judges take note of this ruling."
 
"The court system was designed to serve the public, all Oklahomans, and criminal cases need to remain open to the public," Funk said. "When cases are improperly closed, it gives the appearance of favoritism or improper treatment. With openness, Oklahomans can have greater confidence in their court system."
 
Kudos to Funk for taking on this fight and to Van Dyck for affirming the public's right to know what goes on in its courts.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications
 
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.

Enid newspaper gets hearing to unseal records of dismissed charge against attorney

A sealed felony perjury charge against Enid attorney Eric Edwards was dismissed Monday.
 
But the Enid News & Eagle isn't giving up its fight to unseal the records closed by District Judge Ray Dean Linder in June.
 
News & Eagle Publisher Jeff Funk said the manner in which the case was sealed gives the impression of partiality and undue secrecy.
 
"The decision to dismiss the charge against Edwards does not address the News & Eagle's concern," Funk said. "Our dispute is with how this entire criminal case was made secret. It was sealed without advance notice, without proper procedure.
 
"How can the public have faith in a justice system that keeps secrets, that hides certain cases in dark corners, especially a case involving another local attorney?
 
"It looks like preferential treatment for Edwards, an attorney, to have a criminal charge against him kept confidential even though charges against all other adults are handled in open court," Funk said. "Our objection is to the secrecy of this case, and we want the court to declare this secrecy, this special treatment, unlawful and wrong."
 
A hearing on the newspaper's motion to unseal the case has been scheduled before Grady County District Judge Richard Van Dyck on July 30 in the Grady County Courthouse in Chickasha.
 
The Oklahoma Supreme Court had reassigned the case from Linder to Van Dyck on June 28.
 
Linder blocked public access to the records the same day the charge was filed against Edwards in May. Linder gave no reason other than he was the judge in the case and "because in my professional opinion it deserved to be sealed."
 
Linder also told the newspaper at the time that the case would "remain sealed until I say it shouldn't be sealed."
 
Major County District Attorney Hollis Thorp later recused his office from the case.
 
Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater was appointed to replace him. After reviewing the case, Prater filed a motion to dismiss the charge, saying it was in the best interest of justice.
 
Van Dyck agreed on Monday.
 
The newspaper's attempt to unseal the case took a strange twist recently when it received a response from Edwards’ attorney, Stephen Jones, with more than 40 lines blacked out.
 
In a court filing Friday, the newspaper's attorney, Michael Minnis, noted the difficulty of replying to a redacted response.
 
"If the defendant was truly seeking to avoid notoriety about what he claims is a bogus criminal charge, he should have made his arguments in open court and could have avoided the massive publicity he had to know would be caused by trying to make the case disappear shortly after it was filed,” Minnis wrote.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications
 
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.

Attorney Stephen Jones threatens newspaper with legal action for reporting on sealed case

The Enid News & Eagle's attempt to unseal court records has drawn threats of legal action by Enid attorney Stephen Jones.
 
Jones is representing Eric Edwards, the Enid attorney whose charge for felony perjury the newspaper is trying to open for the public to see.
 
The newspaper filed two motions on Tuesday seeking to unseal the records closed by District Judge Ray Dean Linder in May.
 
In reporting on the motions Wednesday, the newspaper noted that a letter from Jones had been hand-delivered and faxed to the newsroom less than 45 minutes after he had declined to comment for the story.
 
In the letter, Jones said, "The publication of a newspaper story about matters that are under seal may result in contempt citations against the newspaper, the reporter personally, and their sources."
 
However, the newspaper is under no gag order from the judge that would prohibit it from reporting on the case having been sealed and its attempt to open the file.
 
Jones sent another letter following Wednesday's story. He accused the newspaper of engaging in a "journalistic assassination" of Edwards and of "bullying."
 
He also wrote:

We are evaluating, as counsel for one of the parties in interest, whether the newspaper, its anonymous source, and the reporters have violated the Court’s Order, and thus subject to contempt, punishment, and liable for violation of Mr. Edward’s civil rights. The sanction available against their likely source is unique to him.

How the newspaper could have violated the judge's order and Edwards' civil rights isn't clear.
 
For example, the charge against Edwards was originally posted to On Demand Court Records, a state court records database. The newspaper reported that its subsequent request to the Major County court clerk for an affidavit in the case was denied on the grounds the case records had been sealed.
 
The case was removed from ODCR that afternoon, but not before the newspaper grabbed a screen capture of the case.
 
Best known for serving as Timothy McVeigh's lead defense, Jones is the one guilty of bullying. Kudos to the Enid News & Eagle editors and reporters for not kowtowing to him.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications
 
The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, or its board of directors. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.