A judge closed the March 13 preliminary hearing for Ashton Whittington, one of three men charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl last year, before opening it back up to the public at the request of defense attorneys.

Deputy District Attorney Ryan Hess filed a motion to exclude journalists from the hearing the day before, a motion that was granted without explanation by Seventh Judicial District County Court Judge Sean Murphy.

Hess argued in the motion that pretrial coverage of the case could make it difficult to seat a jury in Ouray County, should the case go to trial. He cited case law indicating pretrial hearings shouldn’t be closed to the public or media unless an “overriding and compelling state interest … is demonstrated.” Hess argued that ensuring a trial can be held in Ouray County constituted a state interest, and he asked that only “interested parties” be permitted in the hearing. It was not clear what he meant by this term.

It is rare for a judge to close a court hearing to the public, and the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that all court proceedings are presumptively open and can only be closed when strictly and unavoidably necessary. The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that if a judge improperly closes court proceedings over a defendant’s objection to keep them open to the public, a jury’s guilty verdict can be overturned.

Murphy announced at the beginning of the hearing that the hearing was closed to the public and asked everyone not directly involved in the case to leave the courtroom. About 30 minutes later the judge reopened the courtroom, indicating defense attorneys had objected to the closure of the hearing and that he had reconsidered and decided to open the hearing to the public.

Arguments about whether to keep the hearing closed, as well as the judge reversing his decision, all took place behind closed doors.

— Mike Wiggins