- Joined
- Oct 25, 2024
Everything will come out eventually
Unfortunately the only thing more horrifying than a CSA case is the fact that there is a plausible scenario in which not one shred of it would ever become known publicly:
Rule 4. Accessibility to Case Records
Subdivision 1. Accessibility. Subject to subdivision 4 of this rule (Records Referring to Information in Non-Public Documents) and Rule 8, subdivision 5 (Access to Certain Evidence), the following case records are not accessible to the public:
...
(m) Minor Victim Identifying Information. (1) Where Applicable. Except as otherwise provided by order of the court, information that specifically identifies a victim who is a minor at the time of the alleged offense or incident in the following cases:
(A) criminal... cases involving a... complaint[] or indictment issued pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 609.322, 609.342, 609.343, 609.344, 609.345, 609.3451, or 609.3453;
...
Subd. 4. Records Referring to Information in Non-Public Documents. Generally, a rule or law precluding public access to an entire document such as a report or medical record shall not preclude the parties or the court from mentioning the contents of the document in open court or in otherwise publicly accessible pleadings or documents such as motions, affidavits, and memoranda of law where such discussion is necessary and relevant to the particular issues or legal argument being addressed in the proceeding. Except as otherwise authorized by the presiding judge in a particular case, this rule permitting mention of otherwise non-public information shall not apply to:
...
(b) Identity of a minor victim of sexual assault under Rule 4, subd. 1(m), except that unless otherwise ordered by the presiding judge, such victim may be referred to by initials and year of birth
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/court_rules/ra/id/4/
Rule 25.03 Restrictive Orders
Subd. 1. Scope. Except as provided in Rules 25.01, 26.03, subd. 6, and 33.04, this rule governs the issuance of any court order restricting public access to public records relating to a criminal proceeding.
Subd. 2. Motion and Notice.
(a) A restrictive order may be issued only on motion and after notice and hearing.
(b) Notice of the hearing must be given in the time and manner and to interested persons, including the news media, as the court may direct. The notice must be issued publicly at least 24 hours before the hearing and must afford the public and the news media an opportunity to be heard.
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Subd. 4. Grounds for Restrictive Order. The court may issue a restrictive order under this rule only if the court concludes that:
(a) Access to public records will present a substantial likelihood of interfering with the fair and impartial administration of justice.
(b) All reasonable alternatives to a restrictive order are inadequate.
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/court_rules/cr/id/25/
Now that's not to say that Nick would ever have done such a thing to his coke-addled "favorite," and is only to point out that if he had, you can be damned sure he would have paid through the nose for every bit of eleventh-hour motion practice it'd take to ensure that the gayylawgs miss their 24-hour window to ever even catch wind of it. In that scenario the only way that such a swiftly sealed fourth criminal file would ever become public is in the uncertain event of a conviction, which could help to explain why it's so critical to throw every last appellate kitchen sink at voiding the search warrant when simply taking a plea deal for a pissant first-offense drug charge would have amounted to a slap on the wrist. Perhaps he had to fight to the bitter end because other, nonpublic branches of the proverbial poisonous tree stemming from that warrant left it where there was truly was no choice.
That's just a hypothetical and who the hell knows, but the point is that we need to be ready for the very real possibility of never even being allowed to know.