Santa Ana : Ramirez Lawyers Seek Court Procedure Delay

Attorneys for Night Stalker suspect Richard Ramirez asked a state appeals court Wednesday to postpone today’s scheduled proceeding on whether to close his preliminary hearing on charges of rape and attempted murder, stemming from a 1985 Mission Viejo attack.

Filed in the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, the request challenges last week’s ruling by a Superior Court judge, which upheld the news media’s right to question witnesses in today’s scheduled Municipal Court hearing on the defense request to close the courtroom to the public.

Ramirez’s attorneys had appealed a similar Municipal Court judge’s ruling favoring The Times and the Orange County Register. Attorneys for the newspapers had sought to be allowed to cross-examine witnesses on the closure issue.

In the appellate court request, defense lawyers asked for a postponement of the proceedings until justices could hear the issue, claiming that without intervention, the Municipal Court hearing could go forward, resulting in Ramirez not getting a fair trial.

The defense is also expected to ask Municipal Judge B. Tam Nomoto for a delay in the proceedings today if the appellate court has not acted by this morning.

Ramirez is also accused of 14 murders in Los Angles County.