By: E&P Staff The Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera plans to challenge a judge's order forbidding the paper from publishing a mug shot it obtained from police, the Camera's editor said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Judge Roxanne Bailin signed an order that sealed the case of Phillip Martinez, the man charged in a racially motivated assault against a University of Colorado student. The order was filed the following day.
After obtaining the photograph from the Sheriff's Office Tuesday morning, the Camera published it on its Web site. However, upon discovering this, judge John Stavely issued an order forbidding the publication from doing so.
Police and prosecutors are concerned that the photo's release could interfere with their case because witnesses still need to view the suspect in a lineup.
District Attorney Mary Lacy told The Denver Post Friday, "Typically, when the identification process is tainted, the defense attorney will file a motion to suppress."
Nevertheless, Camera editor Sue Deans maintains that the court's actions are unconstitutional. She said that the order is prior restraint and that the newspaper legally obtained the mug shot. She also pointed out that it was only published online.
Martinez?s case has been sealed for 60 days. He is accused of hurling racial epithets at CU student Andrew Sterling before hitting him twice and breaking Sterling's jaw.
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