Judge Keeps Young Sniper Suspect’s Hearing Closed

A federal judge in Baltimore declined to allow open access to a court hearing Monday for 17-year-old Lee Boyd Malvo, ruling that “enormous” public interest in the Washington-area sniper case does not outweigh the suspect’s right to be shielded from scrutiny as a juvenile.

The ruling came Friday on a motion by news organizations that wanted to attend Monday’s hearing. U.S. Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar said he was not convinced that the public’s interest in the case warranted an exception to a federal law designed to protect juveniles from public stigma that might hinder attempts to rehabilitate them.

Monday’s hearing is to decide whether Malvo should be detained on federal juvenile charges related to the sniper attacks, which killed 10 people and wounded three from Oct. 2 to 22. The proceeding could include “embarrassing” and “delicate” testimony about his mental health, family history and past conduct, Bredar said.

“To release it publicly would potentially stigmatize this child,” Bredar said.

The motion by the Washington Post, Associated Press, the New York Times and the Baltimore Sun sought to open all proceedings in Malvo’s case to the media and public, just as court proceedings for the other suspect, John Allen Muhammad, 41, are open.