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Article: CLOSING OF A COURTROOM THE ISSUE: DENVER JUDGE BOOTS PRESS OUT OF LISL AUMAN HEARING OUR VIEW: SINCE WHEN IS PUBLIC TESTIMONY KEPT FROM THE PUBLIC?(Editorial)
- Article from:
- Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
- Article date:
- October 21, 1998
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Rocky Mountain News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Dialog LLC by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Someone's life was at stake Tuesday - the question, literally, was whether Lisl Auman would spend the rest of her life in prison for first-degree murder or be granted a new trial in the slaying of officer Bruce VanderJagt - and a Denver judge closed the courtroom to the press.
In an alarming and surprising ruling, Judge Stephen Phillips took testimony in his chambers rather than in open court on an absolutely critical issue of disagreement between the defense and prosecution. The very integrity of Auman's conviction this past summer stood in the balance, and yet everyone who has relied on the news media for their knowledge of Auman's trial and the controversy that ...