Lawyers representing Paxton Media Group in Paducah are accusing Marshall County Circuit Judge Jamie Jameson of improperly interfering with the prosecution of accused Marshall County High School shooter Gabe Parker.
PMG's lawyers filed a writ on Tuesday arguing that the arraignment on Friday should have been open to the media and to the public. They also make serious allegations that Jameson is a personal acquaintance of Parker’s mother, that he sought to stop a detective’s interview of Parker and appointed a public defender when he had no jurisdiction to do so.
PMG owns The Paducah Sun, WPSD Local 6 and the Marshall County Tribune-Courier. A writ of mandamus or prohibition is a request to the next highest court to order a judge to do something. In this case, it would go to the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In this case, PMGis requesting the court order Jameson to release the video of the arraignment on Friday and to hold all future proceedings in public. Typically, for writs to be successful, they must demonstrate irreparable harm or damage.
Jim Paxton explains the writ in an interview with WPSD.
Central to PMG 's argument is that the grand jury returned an indictment on Tuesday, charging Parker with two counts of murder and 14 counts of first-degree assault. The indictment means Parker is charged as an adult. Parker is 15 years old. Kentucky State Police Detective Jody Cash confirmed Friday with WKMS News that “adult prosecutorial proceedings are underway.” Since Parker is being tried as an adult and not a juvenile, despite his age, the arraignment in Circuit Court last Friday should not have been closed to the media and to the public.
A Kentucky law (KRS 635.120) states: “Records, limited to the records of the present case in which the child has been charged, of juveniles tried as adults in the Circuit Court shall be open to the public after the child has been indicted and arraigned on the offense for trial of the child as an adult.”
The writ alleges that Jameson “engaged in a highly unusual and inappropriate series of actions to prematurely intervene in the handling of this criminal matter, and to prevent the public and media from accessing any information that would allow scrutiny of his actions.”
The writ claims that Jameson illegally closed last week’s arraignment hearing for Parker. The writ claims Jameson is acquainted with Parker’s mother, Mary Garrison-Minyard. It goes on to claim that Jameson intervened in an ongoing interview with Parker to demand that a detective stop questioning him. It also says Jameson appointed Parker a public defender within hours of the shooting even though Parker had not yet been indicted and was not under the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court.
According to the writ, information based on reports of individuals who attended the closed arraignment state “Judge Jameson used the arraignment proceedings to make certain disclosures and findings of fact” regarding his appointing a public defender and interference in a detective’s interview. “Judge Jameson made these findings in an effort to avoid his recusal from the case,” the writ states.
PMGsays Jameson closed Parker’s arraignment hearing to the public over their written objection and sealed records of post-hearing requests that included a video transcript of the hearing.
According to the writ, PMG sent a letter to Jameson’s office on February 15, which outlined “the legal authorities mandating that criminal proceedings in Circuit Court are presumptively open to the public, regardless of the age of the offender.” On February 16, Jameson responded with a letter describing Parker’s arraignment as “juvenile proceedings before the Circuit Court,” and directed PMGcounsel to contact the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts for further inquiry. PMGsaid they then contacted Leigh Anne Hiatt of the AOC. Hiatt agreed to look into the issue, but they say she has not yet responded to their request. PMG's lawyers say the notion of a juvenile proceeding before a Circuit Court is an “oxymoronic suggestion” with no factual or legal basis.
The writ says that “no judicial findings have been made which could support the closure of Parker’s arraignment or any subsequent proceedings in Marshall Circuit Court.”
WKMS News was told by Kentucky State Police Detective Jody Cash after the arraignment on Friday afternoon that the Grand Jury charges were the only publicly available document at that time. Cash said, “The other court documents related to this case are currently being reviewed for the purpose of verifying which ones are subject to open status and which ones maintain their confidential status.” WKMS News has since requested the Marshall County Circuit Court provide all materials now legally subject to open status involving the Gabe Parker case and will continue to do so.
Parker’s case can still move forward, but the Court of Appeals must rule on the writ. Judge Jameson may file a response to the writ to the Kentucky Court of Appeals explaining his position. Otherwise, the next step in this matter is the Court of Appeals’ ruling. Parker’s case is still a long way from trial, attorneys say.
