Judge bars public from hearing in Guerrero case

EDINBURG — The judge in the sexual assault case against former Hidalgo County district clerk Omar Guerrero closed the court on Thursday, barring the public and the press from its proceedings.

State District Court Judge Aida Salinas Flores said she did not want evidence that she may rule inadmissible released to the public in a case she says has already garnered too much attention.

Flores issued a gag order in May that prevents anyone involved in the case from discussing it outside the courtroom.

While it’s unclear what evidence was discussed in the closed hearing, Flores indicated it involved the alleged victim, a 15-year-old Mission girl.

Prosecutor Judith Cantu has taken issue with defense attorney Ric Salinas’ statements about the girl. Salinas has made it clear one of his defense strategies is to discuss the girl’s sexual past.

Before the court was closed, Salinas bridled at the restriction Flores had imposed on the two attorneys: No specifics about evidence could be discussed in open court until Flores had decided it was admissible in closed court.

During a brief recess, Monitor attorney Dan Worthington talked to Flores and argued that the judge could not simply utter the order closing the court; she must issue it in writing.

“We believe that the general rule is that criminal matters are to remain open to the public,” he said in an interview after the proceed-ings.

John Bussian, a First Amendment expert and attorney for Freedom Communications Inc., The Monitor’s parent company, said closing a courtroom, even temporarily, is a drastic action and can rarely be constitutionally justified.

“The importance of open courtrooms is a cornerstone of free speech and free press rights,” he said.

“Without a free flow of information about what transpires inside a courtroom, the public and the press are unable to have confidence in the proceedings that they deserve to have. Consequently, the party or the judge seeking to close the courtroom has a high burden to meet to justify doing that.”

Monitor Editor Steve Fagan stressed that the newspaper shares the court’s desire to protect the alleged victim but questioned the restriction of press access to the proceedings.

“This is yet a another disturbing instance where it appears that Judge Flores neither understands nor respects the public’s rights to witness what goes on in judicial proceedings,” he said. “We see no good reason why she keeps trying to deny the press access to what goes on in her courtroom.

“Although I can respect her wishes to protect the alleged victim from undue and potentially harmful publicity, she should, considering her years on the bench, understand that most, if not all, news outlets in the area have a policy of protecting the identity of sexual assault victims, a policy that The Monitor honors in all instances.”

Worthington plans to file an order Monday to require Flores to formally consider closing certain hearings to the public.

If she signs it, he will file a motion to have the transcripts of Thursday’s closed session released, he said, since she had not previously signed the order.

CASE HISTORY

Flores did discuss some matters in open court. She ordered both parties to meet today to discuss a proposed jury questionnaire and to file briefs and case law by June 21.

Guerrero was first arrested in 2005 in connection with a charge of driving while intoxicated when he showed up at a crime scene.

He was arrested again in 2006 in connection with a report that he had assaulted his wife.

Then in December, Guerrero fled to Mexico shortly after Mission police issued an arrest warrant saying he had sex with the 15-year-old girl. He was finally arrested in February.

Since then, the sexual assault case against Guerrero has moved slowly.

It was delayed earlier in the year when Salinas unsuccessfully asked Flores to recuse herself from the case because she allegedly had political differences with Guerrero’s father.

Pretrial hearings and jury selection were set for last week, but Salinas asked for a continuance until next week because he needed more time to prepare his case.

Flores approved the motion.

HEATED DEBATE

Flores also warned Salinas and Cantu to stop fighting.

The two have lodged complaints against one other in open court since Flores started hearing motions in the case more than a month ago. The breaking point for Flores came when Cantu accused Salinas of making up case law.

“I am just objecting to his sidebars,” Cantu said. “Nine out of 10 times he is wrong.”

Flores waited a few minutes before telling them to stop interrupting her and each other.

“I hope this will not be a preview of the trial,” she said. “It is disrespectful to the court.”

She said that she would prepare an order for the record warning them to be more civil.

About 15 minutes later she closed the court to the public to hear potential evidence.

She opened the court up about 90 minutes later.

____

Andres R. Martinez covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.