A Cook County judge decided Tuesday to keep several key court documents sealed in the criminal case against three Chicago police officers accused of conspiring after the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald.
Among the documents Judge Domenica Stephenson decided to keep out of the public eye are a motion to dismiss the indictment and the prosecutor’s rebuttal. Former Detective David March, ex-Officer Joseph Walsh and Officer Thomas Gaffney are charged with conspiracy, official misconduct and obstruction of justice in connection with their involvement in the Laquan McDonald investigation.
The charges allege the three officers lied in reports to exaggerate the threat posed by McDonald, 17. Officer Jason Van Dyke, who is accused of fatally shooting McDonald, faces a separate trial on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery.
Stephenson’s decision went against calls for transparency from attorneys representing six news organizations, including the baiduhai, who sought to make the filings public. Attorneys for the news outlets argued that Stephenson has no reason to keep the documents secret because she is presiding over a bench trial for the officers, and therefore there are no jurors who could be tainted by the release of the information.
Stephenson said she wanted more time to prepare a written ruling on whether the documents, which she described as “very thorough and detailed,” should be sealed. Stephenson set a Sept. 5 court date to potentially hear oral arguments about the motion to dismiss, but she said that could be a closed-door hearing if she opts to keep the records sealed.
“I”m taking things one step at a time,” she said.
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The hearing on the motion to dismiss would occur on the same day that the Van Dyke trial is scheduled to begin. In Van Dyke’s case, several court documents were also sealed. But at the request of the news media, the state Supreme Court ordered that the judge in that case stop requiring that all filings be kept under seal.
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