Editorial: Secrecy is unjustified in courts

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2001 | 10:15 a.m.

It is disturbing that District Judge Kathy Hardcastle held a secret hearing last month at the Clark County Detention Center. The extraordinary proceeding involved Jose Manuel Vigoa, a defendant charged in a highly publicized robbery at the Bellagio hotel-casino. Also troublesome about this proceeding, which had been kept from the public until reporter Jeff German broke the story in Tuesday's Sun, is that the judge and jail officials disagree on who sought the hearing behind closed doors -- and away from the courthouse. For that matter, it's puzzling that the county's court administrator said he was never even told about the hearing.

Vigoa was a convicted felon who had been known to be violent. In addition to the Bellagio heist, police also are investigating whether he was involved in other casino robberies on the Strip. They also are looking into whether Vigoa and two accomplices killed two security guards in a botched robbery of an armored car in Henderson. Metro Police believed that Vigoa had associates who might try to help him escape. It is easy to see why heightened security precautions were believed necessary, but there is no excuse why the public should have been kept in the dark.

Faith in the fairness of our justice system requires that a criminal defendant's hearings be open to the public. Attorney Dominic Gentile, who represents the Sun and other media organizations, aptly notes that open criminal proceedings serve to protect both the public and defendants from overzealous prosecutors and judges. This closed-door hearing, a blemish on the District Court, should never occur again.