Janklow court documents under seal

By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer | Thursday, October 16, 2003

Previous Page

Share

• del.icio.us
• Digg
• NewsVine
• Fark

Print

Email

FLANDREAU — A judge on Wednesday temporarily sealed documents filed in the second-degree manslaughter case of U.S. Rep. Bill Janklow, R-S.D.

In the order, issued and sent to members of the media Wednesday afternoon, Circuit Judge Rodney Steele issued three instructions.

First, all documents filed with the clerk of courts in Moody County regarding the admissibility of evidence at trial will be sealed.

Second, lawyers and other parties in the case may not disclose or discuss any documents filed under seal.

Third, the order to seal documents and gag participants will be in effect until Steele rules on the matter after a hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Steele has set a five-day trial to begin Monday, Dec. 1.

Janklow faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence for the felony manslaughter charge, which stems from an Aug. 16 traffic crash. He is also charged with misdemeanor reckless driving, speeding and running a stop sign.

Investigators say Janklow drove a Cadillac through a stop sign at 71 mph. At the intersection of two paved county roads, where both speed limits are 55 mph, the Cadillac and a motorcycle driven by Randy Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn., collided. Scott died instantly. Janklow suffered a head injury and a broken bone in his right hand.

Motions in the case are due Friday, Oct. 17, and responses to motions are due Friday, Oct. 31. Because of Wednesday's ruling, most or all of those documents will be sealed at least until the Nov. 4 hearing.

Steele's ruling to seal applies only to documents filed that relate to the admissibility of evidence. However, most motions made in a criminal case center on admissibility of evidence, lawyers said.

Either side could ask to move the trial from Flandreau to another town in South Dakota, and that motion would be made public, as would any motion not related to the evidence.

Janklow has an extensive speeding record, and after the fatal accident, a Sioux Falls woman came forward saying Janklow had nearly hit her and her family after driving through the same stop sign in December 2002. That kind of evidence, along with facts directly related to the accident, could be the target of motions filed by Janklow's attorneys.

For example, information from a "black box" data recorder in the Cadillac has not been made public, nor have witness statements nor a reconstruction of Janklow's travel from Aberdeen to the accident site. Because the prosecution must share that evidence with the defense through the discovery process, Janklow's lawyers likely know the details of the evidence the prosecution has collected.

In his undated motion to seal records, Janklow asks that all motions made related to such evidence and all hearings held on those matters be kept secret "until such time as the jury returns its verdict in this case."

Steele said he received the motion by e-mail.

In this case, Steele has broad discretion in deciding whether to grant Janklow's request. State law says that evidence should be excluded if it would jeopardize a person's right to a fair trial.

"Although relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury," reads state codified law 19-12-3, "or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence."

In such a high-profile case, Janklow's lawyers could argue that publicity surrounding the motions would make it difficult to seat an impartial jury.

Rapid City defense attorney Timothy Rensch said care is taken to provide a fair trial in high-profile cases.

"Sometimes in high-profile cases, there are separate files. There's a file that never makes it to public consumption," Rensch said. "It's relatively routine in high-profile cases to have documents sealed. A person in such a public spotlight like that, too, has right to a fair trial."

Also, Rensch said it is often difficult to assess in advance some evidence and testimony presented shortly before a trial. Information made public at a hearing could be misleading or later be debunked, he said.

Moody County State's Attorney William Ellingson, the prosecutor in the case, said he is not sure whether he will argue against Janklow's motion to seal documents and gag participants in the case.

"I expect to get a brief on the motion soon," Ellingson said. "I'll have to take a look at it."

Contact Denise Ross at 394-8438 or denise.ross@rapidcityjournal.com