Opinion ID: 1059623
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Richmond Newspapers, Inc., et al.

Text: In May 1999, the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court of the County of Brunswick conducted a consolidated preliminary hearing in cases styled Commonwealth v. Mark Harvey and Commonwealth v. Michael Lee Knight. Harvey was the chief of police of the Town of Alberta, and Knight is an electrician. The defendants, both adults, had been charged with multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault and sodomy upon numerous juveniles. Before the hearing, Richmond Newspapers and its reporter, Jamie Ruff, filed a motion for an open preliminary hearing. The Commonwealth's Attorney filed a motion for a closed hearing pursuant to Code § 18.2-67.8 which states: In preliminary hearings for offenses charged under this article or under §§ 18.2-361, 18.2-366, 18.2-370 or § 18.2-370.1, the court may, on its own motion or at the request of the Commonwealth, the complaining witness, the accused, or their counsel, exclude from the courtroom all persons except officers of the court and persons whose presence, in the judgment of the court, would be supportive of the complaining witness or the accused and would not impair the conduct of a fair hearing. The Commonwealth did not present any evidence in support of its motion. The Commonwealth's Attorney argued that the victims of the sexual crimes are between the ages of nine and seventeen, and their identities have been closely guarded. Counsel for Richmond Newspapers and Ruff contended that the preliminary hearing should be open to the public. The juvenile and domestic relations district court granted the motion to close the hearing. That court concluded that some of the witnesses were as young as five years of age and that the court was required to consider the interests of these children. Richmond Newspapers and Ruff filed a petition for writ of mandamus against the Honorable Leslie L. Mason, Jr., Judge Designate, in the Circuit Court of Brunswick County. The petitioners alleged that the juvenile and domestic relations district court violated their rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and Art. I, Section 12, of the Constitution of Virginia. The Attorney General, on behalf of Judge Mason, filed responsive pleadings in the circuit court, including a motion to dismiss on the basis that mandamus was not an appropriate remedy. The circuit court rejected the Attorney General's arguments and held that the juvenile and domestic relations district court violated the requirements of Code §§ 16.1-302(C) and 18.2-67.8, the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Art. I, Section 12, of the Constitution of Virginia. The circuit court granted the writ of mandamus and entered a final order that directed the juvenile and domestic relations district court not to close [its] courtroom without making and articulating the findings required by law so that a reviewing court can determine that the closure was proper, and required that transcripts of the preliminary hearing be filed with the court and made a part of the public records in Commonwealth v. Mark Harvey and Commonwealth v. Michael Lee Knight. Judge Mason appeals.