NEW HAVEN — -
A judge heard arguments Tuesday about whether to make public the police documents in the case against Raymond Clark III, who is accused of murdering Yale graduate student Annie Le, but he made no ruling.
Judge Roland D. Fasano told attorneys in Superior Court in New Haven it may take him weeks to decide whether to continue the seal on the documents.
Le's body was found Sept. 13 concealed in a crawl space at 10 Amistad St., a research building that is part of the Yale School of Medicine complex where Clark worked and Le did research. The discovery was made on the day that Le, 24, was scheduled to get married.
The state medical examiner said that Le died of traumatic asphyxiation due to neck compression.
Clark — handcuffed, shackled and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit — appeared in court Tuesday but did not enter a plea. The judge set a deadline of Nov. 3 for the prosecution to finish the discovery portion of its case.
Attorneys for the state and the defense argued against disclosing either of two search warrants or the arrest warrant in the case. If the documents are made public, they argued, certain portions should not be released.
Assistant State's Attorney John Waddock said he spoke with members of the Le family and said "their wish and their hope ... is that the documents continue to be sealed."
Waddock said that the family is "deeply concerned" and that it would be "making an already difficult time much more difficult" if the documents were made public. The ordeal "has worn on the family tremendously, and they are still trying to get through that experience," he said.
Beth A. Merkin, one of Clark's attorneys, argued that sealing the document would ensure "a fair trial and maximize [the defendant's] ability to select a fair and impartial jury."
Hartford attorney Paul R. Guggina, who is representing The Courant and other media outlets, noted the importance of a defendant's fair trial rights but said "the right to free speech and free press is equally important."
On Sept. 17, the day of Clark's arrest, a judge approved the request from prosecutors to seal the arrest warrant affidavit for 14 days. On Sept. 24, public defenders Merkin and Joseph E. Lopez asked that the seal be extended, saying releasing it would hurt Clark's chances of getting a fair trial and an impartial jury.
Guggina, in his objection, argued that sealing court documents is "not a matter of course." State law gives the public the right to access judicial documents, he argued, unless those seeking to block access show that there is an overriding interest in keeping the affidavit secret. If there is such an interest, he said, it must be shown that a sealing order is the only remedy and the order must be "narrowly tailored to provide the public as much access as possible."
Law enforcement officials have released few details about their investigation of Le's death and the suspect. The court documents are expected to contain substantial details about the arrest and investigation.
Sources familiar with the investigation have told The Courant that the evidence leading to Clark's arrest was a combination of computer records of security cards that showed Clark was the last person to see Le alive, his failed polygraph, scratches on his body, his attempts to clean up the crime scene and, ultimately, a DNA match in two places.
Those same sources said police are looking into whether a work dispute might have prompted the attack on Le.
Clark is being held, with bail set at $3 million, at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.
Judge Roland D. Fasano told attorneys in Superior Court in New Haven it may take him weeks to decide whether to continue the seal on the documents.
Le's body was found Sept. 13 concealed in a crawl space at 10 Amistad St., a research building that is part of the Yale School of Medicine complex where Clark worked and Le did research. The discovery was made on the day that Le, 24, was scheduled to get married.
The state medical examiner said that Le died of traumatic asphyxiation due to neck compression.
Clark — handcuffed, shackled and wearing an orange prison jumpsuit — appeared in court Tuesday but did not enter a plea. The judge set a deadline of Nov. 3 for the prosecution to finish the discovery portion of its case.
Attorneys for the state and the defense argued against disclosing either of two search warrants or the arrest warrant in the case. If the documents are made public, they argued, certain portions should not be released.
Assistant State's Attorney John Waddock said he spoke with members of the Le family and said "their wish and their hope ... is that the documents continue to be sealed."
Waddock said that the family is "deeply concerned" and that it would be "making an already difficult time much more difficult" if the documents were made public. The ordeal "has worn on the family tremendously, and they are still trying to get through that experience," he said.
Beth A. Merkin, one of Clark's attorneys, argued that sealing the document would ensure "a fair trial and maximize [the defendant's] ability to select a fair and impartial jury."
Hartford attorney Paul R. Guggina, who is representing The Courant and other media outlets, noted the importance of a defendant's fair trial rights but said "the right to free speech and free press is equally important."
On Sept. 17, the day of Clark's arrest, a judge approved the request from prosecutors to seal the arrest warrant affidavit for 14 days. On Sept. 24, public defenders Merkin and Joseph E. Lopez asked that the seal be extended, saying releasing it would hurt Clark's chances of getting a fair trial and an impartial jury.
Guggina, in his objection, argued that sealing court documents is "not a matter of course." State law gives the public the right to access judicial documents, he argued, unless those seeking to block access show that there is an overriding interest in keeping the affidavit secret. If there is such an interest, he said, it must be shown that a sealing order is the only remedy and the order must be "narrowly tailored to provide the public as much access as possible."
Law enforcement officials have released few details about their investigation of Le's death and the suspect. The court documents are expected to contain substantial details about the arrest and investigation.
Sources familiar with the investigation have told The Courant that the evidence leading to Clark's arrest was a combination of computer records of security cards that showed Clark was the last person to see Le alive, his failed polygraph, scratches on his body, his attempts to clean up the crime scene and, ultimately, a DNA match in two places.
Those same sources said police are looking into whether a work dispute might have prompted the attack on Le.
Clark is being held, with bail set at $3 million, at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.