The Colorado Supreme Court next week will hear arguments on whether the public and press can even ask to view the writings and videotapes taken from the homes of Columbine killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.
Lawyers believe it is the first time the state high court has addressed the issue of whether the privacy rights of a homeowner supersede the public’s right to know.
They say the high court’s final decision will have a far-reaching impact on what the press and public will be able to see in the future in similar cases.
“The government will have unfettered and unchecked power to disclose or conceal, in whole or in part, records obtained and used by the government,” said Marc Flink, a lawyer for the Colorado Press Association, if the court rules against releasing the documents.
Eric’s parents, Wayne and Katherine Harris; Dylan’s parents, Thomas and Susan Klebold; and Ted Mink, Jefferson County sheriff, don’t want the items released.
The Denver Post is seeking notes written by Wayne Harris about his son and Dylan Klebold, medical records of the teenagers, the audio and videotapes they made, and their writings, including school papers, notations in the Columbine High School yearbook and diaries.
The Post is seeking the records under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act, but the Klebolds and Harrises argue that the items are privately owned and not subject to public release.
“We don’t think that the government should be able to turn a citizen’s personal writings or videotapes into a public record and be able to hand it out to the media just because they seized it under a search warrant,” said Gregg Kay , a lawyer for the Klebolds.
Every paper, writing, medical record, photograph and computer file contained in a home or business would become a public record or criminal-justice record open to the public, the two families maintain.
The Criminal Justice Records Act allows the public and press to request access to documents. A judge then weighs whether release is contrary to the public interest.
Steve Zansberg, a lawyer for The Post, said that if the Supreme Court agrees with the Harrises and Klebolds, “no other records like these records will ever be available for public inspection again.”
The press has been able to get information, Zansberg said, such as the suicide manifesto of Marvin Heemeyer, who ripped through Granby in his bulldozer, and the suicide notes of Rick Lopez, a former basketball coach who was accused of sexual misconduct.
In the immediate aftermath of the April 20, 1999, Columbine massacre, in which 12 students and a teacher died before the killers took their own lives, Jefferson County officials made two points: that the parents of the two killers should be held accountable for their sons’ actions and that they believed there were accomplices.
But a year later, officials issued a report in which they said no one could have predicted the massacre and that there were no accomplices.
Zansberg said the public is entitled to the documents that the press is seeking to see why authorities changed their minds.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers believes the records are criminal justice records and may be made public if a judge determines the release is not contrary to the public interest.
In court papers, Suthers supported open and accessible government under the Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act generally and the “need for maximum openness” concerning the Columbine shootings.
Lily Oeffler, assistant county attorney for Jefferson County who is opposed to the release, declined comment.
But in court papers, she said finding that documents seized from a private home are public records would violate centuries of carefully crafted Fourth Amendment protections that guarantee the sanctity of the home and limit the intrusiveness of government.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
