The Kansas City Star files motion seeking release of affidavit in Olathe murder case

The Kansas City Star filed a motion in court Monday seeking the release, over a defense lawyer’s objections, of a probable cause affidavit in the case of a teenager charged with murder in Olathe.

The teenager is among six teens who have been charged with first-degree murder in Johnson County juvenile court in the May 14 killing of 19-year-old Marco Cardino of Smithville. Cardino was found by police in his car at Black Bob Park suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Star requested a copy of the affidavit, which describes why someone has been charged with a crime, as part of its reporting on the shooting and the prosecution.

Thomas Bath, an attorney for one of the 14-year-olds, filed an objection to The Star’s request for the affidavit. With The Star’s motion Monday, it seeks to respond to the objection and asks the court to order the release of the affidavit.

In announcing charges, District Attorney Steve Howe said this crime is part of a trend where violence occurs involving teens and young adults around small marijuana sales.

“The details of this case are critical to understanding what happened and how it can be avoided in the future,” said Greg Farmer, The Star’s managing editor. “Hiding information from the public would only make it harder for our communities to learn and set better policy going forward.”

The Star’s attorney, Bernie Rhodes, stated in the filing that the newspaper has extensively covered Cardino’s death and the charges against the teens. The Star, as a member of the news media, is entitled to intervene in the case for the limited purpose of objecting to the sealing of the affidavit.

In 2014, Kansas became the last state in the nation to open criminal affidavits. Prosecutors, defendants and their attorneys have up to five days to submit proposed redactions or make a motion to seal the documents. A judge then considers whether to release, seal or redact the court record.

There are only nine circumstances where a judge would be allowed to seal the affidavit. The teen’s attorney has not alleged that any of them apply. Instead, he argued that disclosure of the affidavit would likely generate “negative publicity,” according to The Star’s motion.

That is not one of the exceptions. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled last year that the “mere risk of prejudice” to a defendant by the releasing of the affidavit doesn’t justify sealing it.

There are no provisions in the law that limit the release of affidavits in juvenile cases. Because of that, the legislature did not intend for there to be a juvenile exception, The Star contends.

Bath, the defense attorney, had asserted that it is unclear whether the Kansas law regarding its release applies to juvenile cases. He argued that, because Kansas law permits a judge to close hearings for juveniles under the age of 16, the affidavit should not be released.

But Rhodes responded that the affidavit is a written document, not a hearing. It is governed by another law that states the official file shall be open to the public unless the judge determines that is not in the best interest of a defendant “who is less than 14 years of age.”

Few details of what led to the shooting have been made public.

Aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a firearm are listed as felonies that contributed to the murder charge for some of the defendants.

Prosecutors have filed motions to charge the the four 14-year-olds as adults. The other two will not be tried as adults because they are 13 years old.