S.C. Supreme Court Hears Case on Newspaper Access to 911 Tapes

By: (AP) The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday heard arguments on whether a prosecutor was right in keeping 911 tapes of a North Charleston shooting from a newspaper.

North Charleston lawyer Derk Van Raalte says releasing the tapes would have jeopardized a fair trial for four men accused of beating a man before he was shot by police in October 2000.

The Charleston Post and Courier asked for the tapes eight months after the shooting, because prosecutor Ralph Hoisington decided not to prosecute the officers who shot Edward Snowden.

Newspaper lawyer John Kerr says the law falls on the side of the press, because the tapes were public documents and did not have any confidential information.

The justices will rule at a later date.