Dumanis is pushing the measure carried by Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth , a Republican who represents much of northern San Diego County.
John Albert Gardner III pleaded guilty and is serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole for raping and killing the girls, 17-year-old Chelsea and 14-year-old Amber.
San Diego Superior Court Judge David Danielsen on April 22 lifted a gag order governing the Gardner case, overruling pleas from Amber's and Chelsea's parents to keep the records sealed, particularly to avoid more trauma for their siblings.
The San Diego County medical examiner has not made the documents available, citing an ongoing investigation.
“There are potential other victims,” Dumanis said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will not take up the measure until June 29, but it has already touched off debate.
“The family's right to privacy should win out in these cases,” Hollingsworth said.
Bob Fellmeth, of the Children's Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law, is wary of keeping too much information secret through an overly broad bill.
“I am sympathetic to not having gruesome details in public,” Fellmeth said. But, he added, “the primary goal is to find out what happened and how we can prevent it. The autopsy is part of what happened,”
Fellmeth said the measure cedes too much authority to parents, who could veto the release of records even though in some cases family members may have played a role in a death.
“Relatives protect each other,” Fellmeth said. To counter that, the media and other advocates should have information that can keep cases from being cast aside over time, he said.
Dumanis insisted that the measure will not impede criminal investigations, noting that in San Diego County records will remain available to a special panel of judges, children's advocates and law enforcement officials that reviews all cases involving the deaths of children.
Dumanis said she is working with opponents to craft a compromise, but is adamant about securing more privacy rights. One of her goals, Dumanis said, is to also shield classmates and family friends.
“The community was traumatized as well. They don't want to hear the details any more than they already have,” she said.
Senate Bill 982 would give the decision-making authority to the “biological, adoptive or foster parent, spouse or guardian” in the cases of crime victims under the age of 18. Information that could be sealed includes “the autopsy report and evidence associated with the examination of the victim.”
The California Newspaper Publisher's Association is among those opposed to the bill.
San Diego County has received 22 separate media requests for the records in the deaths of Chelsea and Amber, Dumanis said. |
