The Cobb County District Attorney on Wednesday sought to restrict access to public records related to the prosecution of Ross Harris, the Marietta father accused of intentionally leaving his son in a hot car to die.
The motion was prompted by a request, which included the threat of a lawsuit if denied, for undisclosed information from the Cobb Medical Examiner, said prosecutor Jesse Evans.
“The rampant release of records to the public may impact our ability to try this case in a fair and impartial manner,” Evans told Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley.
Tom Clyde, legal counsel for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, argued that the order requested by the state was overly broad and too restrictive.
“What the state is, in essence, asking for is a gag order,” Clyde said.
Staley said she would consider the request but noted Georgia law typically disfavors such orders.
Harris’ attorney, Maddox Kilgore, did not object to the state’s request.
Harris, jailed without bond last June, was not present at Wednesday’s proceedings. He pleaded not guilty to the eight felony charges, including malice murder, brought against him last summer, claiming he thought he had dropped 22-month-old Cooper off at day care before reporting to work at Home Depot’s corporate headquarters in Vinings.
This story will be updated later today on myajc.com and in Thursday’s print edition of The AJC.
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