Savannah Hope

Thanks to the courage and righteous fury of one teenager, Kentucky might finally be forced to open its secretive juvenile courts.


Andrew Wolfson at the Courier:

Kentucky is one of only 11 states that bar virtually all access to juvenile court, according to a survey of state laws conducted by the Jefferson County attorney’s office.

But a judge’s decision Tuesday to open the juvenile case against Savannah Dietrich’s teenage sexual assaulters could provide momentum toward a broader opening of juvenile proceedings to the public and press, said the lawyer who won the ruling.

Jon Fleischaker, who represents The Courier-Journal and other news organizations, said the case gives the press and advocates something “concrete to talk about” in arguing why juvenile proceedings should be open where there are allegations of serious criminal conduct.

“It’s not just about how the defendants are treated — it’s about how the court operated, how the county attorney operated,” Fleischaker said, adding that legislators might be concerned that a victim was told she could not talk about what happened to her.

The case won’t set any precedent unless and until it is affirmed by a higher court.

But County Attorney Mike O’Connell already said last month that he will push to open some juvenile proceedings.

In her ruling in the Dietrich case on Tuesday, Jefferson District Judge Angela McCormick Bisig cited an exception to Kentucky’s juvenile court confidentiality rule that allows judges to open cases for “good cause.”

Before the case documents were released, however, the lawyer for one of the boys announced he would appeal, and Bisig delayed the release 24 hours.

Hahahaha. Did you catch that? Just last week the confessed rapists' lawyers were whining about how Dietrich had ruined their clients' lives and threatening to open the court records to expose her.

But now that Dietrich herself has forced the case open, the little motherfuckers are backpedaling at high speech and demanding the records be closed. Called your bluff, assholes - now your lies will see daylight.