In re People v. Owens ( 2018 )

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ADVANCE SHEET HEADNOTE
June 11, 2018
2018 CO 55
No. 18SA19, In re People v. Sir Mario Owens, Constitutional Law — Public Access to
Court Records.
In this original proceeding, the supreme court considers and rejects a news
organization’s contention that a trial court erred in refusing to grant public access to
certain records maintained under seal in a capital murder case. The supreme court
emphasizes that, while presumptive access to judicial proceedings is a right recognized
under both the state and federal constitutions, neither the United States Supreme Court
nor the Colorado Supreme Court has ever held that records filed with a court are
treated the same way. The supreme court thus declines the invitation to hold that
unfettered access to criminal justice records is guaranteed by either the First
Amendment or Article II, section 10 of the Colorado Constitution.
The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado
2 East 14th Avenue • Denver, Colorado 80203
2018 CO 55
Supreme Court Case No. 18SA19
Original Proceeding Pursuant to C.A.R. 21
Arapahoe County District Court Case No. 06CR705
Honorable Christopher Munch, Senior Judge
In Re
Plaintiff:
The People of the State of Colorado,
v.
Defendant:
Sir Mario Owens.
Rule Discharged
en banc
June 11, 2018
Attorneys for Petitioner The Colorado Independent:
Ballard Spahr LLP
Thomas B. Kelley
Steven D. Zansberg
Gregory P. Szewczyk
Denver, Colorado
Attorneys for Respondent The District Court for the Eighteenth Judicial District of
Colorado:
Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General
Matthew D. Grove, Assistant Solicitor General
Denver, Colorado
No appearance on behalf of Plaintiff or Defendant.
JUSTICE HART delivered the Opinion of the Court.
¶1 We accepted jurisdiction in this original proceeding to consider The Colorado
Independent’s contention that the Arapahoe County District Court erred in refusing to
grant public access to certain records maintained under seal in a capital murder case.
The Colorado Independent contends that the federal and state constitutions grant a
presumptive right of access to documents filed in criminal cases. While presumptive
access to judicial proceedings is a right recognized under both the state and federal
constitutions, neither the United States Supreme Court nor this court has ever held that
records filed with a court are treated the same way. We decline to conclude here that
such unfettered access to criminal justice records is guaranteed by either the First
Amendment or Article II, section 10 of the Colorado Constitution.
I.
¶2 Defendant Sir Mario Owens was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced
to death in 2008. In 2017, the trial court denied Mr. Owens’s motion for post-conviction
relief pursuant to Crim. P. 32.2, as well as his related motion to disqualify the District
Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial District and to appoint a special prosecutor. The
basis for the motion to disqualify was an allegation that the District Attorney had failed
to disclose evidence that would have been favorable to Mr. Owens’s defense. Over Mr.
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Owens’s objection, the trial court issued a protective order, which remains in place
today, sealing portions of the post-conviction motions practice.1
¶3 In 2017, The Colorado Independent (“Petitioner”) filed a motion with the district
court, asking the court to unseal the records, arguing that public access to the records
was required by the First Amendment, Article II, section 10 of the Colorado
Constitution, common law, and the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act. The district
court denied that motion, and Petitioner filed for relief under C.A.R. 21, limiting its
request for relief to the argument that presumptive access to judicial records is a
constitutional guarantee.
II.
¶4 Relief under C.A.R. 21 is an extraordinary remedy limited in purpose and
availability. C.A.R. 21; People v. Darlington, 105 P.3d 230, 232 (Colo. 2005). Our
exercise of original jurisdiction is discretionary. Fognani v. Young, 115 P.3d 1268, 1271
(Colo. 2005). We have previously exercised our original jurisdiction to address public
access to court documents. See, e.g., People v. Bryant, 94 P.3d 624, 625–26 (Colo. 2004);
Times-Call Publ’g Co. v. Wingfield, 410 P.2d 511, 511–12 (Colo. 1966). Here, we do so
once again.
1Mr. Owens filed a C.A.R. 21 petition with this court in March 2017 seeking to have the
protective order vacated. We declined to issue a rule to show cause. See Order of
Court, In re People v. Owens, No. 17SA59 (Colo. Apr. 7, 2017).
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¶5 Because the availability of First Amendment protection presents a legal question,
we review such challenges de novo. See Cotter v. Bd. of Trustees of Univ. of N. Colo.,
971 P.2d 687, 690 (Colo. App. 1998) (citing Melton v. City of Oklahoma City, 879 F.2d
706 (10th Cir. 1989), modified on other grounds, 928 F.2d 920 (10th Cir. 1991), and Kemp
v. State Bd. of Agric., 803 P.2d 498 (Colo. 1990)). De novo review is also appropriate for
alleged violations of Article II, section 10 of the Colorado Constitution. See Robertson v.
Westminster Mall Co., 43 P.3d 622, 625 (Colo. App. 2001) (citing Lewis v. Colo. Rockies
Baseball Club, Ltd., 941 P.2d 266, 271 (Colo. 1997)).
¶6 Here, we reject Petitioner’s constitutional arguments for mandatory disclosure of
the records sealed in this matter.
¶7 We find no support in United States Supreme Court jurisprudence for
Petitioner’s contention that the First Amendment provides the public with a
constitutional right of access to any and all court records in cases involving matters of
public concern. Petitioner cites none. The Tenth Circuit has more than once declined to
recognize a First Amendment right of access to court records. See, e.g., Lanphere &
Urbaniak v. Colorado, 21 F.3d 1508, 1512 (10th Cir. 1994) (“[T]here is no general First
Amendment right in the public to access criminal justice records.”); United States
v. Hickey, 767 F.2d 705, 709 (10th Cir. 1985) (distinguishing between the acknowledged
right of the public and press to attend trial proceedings and a claimed of right to access
court files).
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¶8 Moreover, we have never recognized any such constitutional right—whether
under the First Amendment or Article II, section 10 of the Colorado Constitution.
Petitioner’s near-exclusive reliance on this court’s opinion in Wingfield is misplaced. In
Wingfield, we analyzed a statutory prohibition against the inspection of court records
in pending cases by non-parties. See 410 P.2d at 512. We concluded that while no
“absolute right to examine” court records exists, inspection may be permitted “at the
discretion of the court.” Id. at 513. Contrary to Petitioner’s assertion, this court did not
hold in Wingfield that limiting access to court records violates the First Amendment.
See id. We decline to do so now in the absence of any indication from the nation’s high
court that access to all criminal justice records is a constitutionally guaranteed right
belonging to the public at large.
¶9 We also see no compelling reason to interpret our state constitution as
guaranteeing such a sweeping—and previously unrecognized—right of unfettered
access to criminal justice records. On the contrary, such a ruling would do violence to
the comprehensive open records laws and administrative procedures currently in
place—including, but not limited to, the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act,
§§ 24-72-301 to -309, C.R.S. (2017)—that are predicated upon the absence of a
constitutionally guaranteed right of access to criminal justice records.
III.
¶10 We affirm the denial of The Colorado Independent’s motion to unseal the subject
records and, consequently, discharge the rule.
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