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Journalist Charles C. Johnson of Got News confirmed earlier this month that he was told by multiple St. Louis area authorities that Michael Brown had a substantial criminal record as a juvenile – including a second-degree murder charge.
Charles C. Johnson @ChuckCJohnson Follow
Confirmed earlier report that #MichaelBrown had juvenile arrest record involving second degree murder... Working on getting report #Ferguson
Today my lawyer & I filed a lawsuit in to release #MichaelBrown juvenile criminal record. I'll be posting soon. #HandsUpDontShoot #Ferguson
Journalist Charles C. Johnson of Got News confirmed earlier this month that he was told by multiple St. Louis area authorities that Michael Brown had a substantial criminal record as a juvenile – including a second-degree murder charge.
Since then, he has worked to facilitate the posthumous release of his records.
Brown, whose death in a police shooting sparked ongoing protests in Ferguson, Mo. and across the country, has been portrayed by some as an innocent victim of a racist officer. Subsequent reports have cast doubt on that depiction, and Johnson hopes to shed even more light on the man’s past by releasing details from his prior arrests.
KMOX spoke to a lawyer currently suing to have Brown’s juvenile records released.
“What we’re arguing is that since he is deceased, those documents revert from being confidential,” Johnathon Burns said, “they revert back to the public sphere. Missouri common law applies, and under Missouri common law, court records and virtually all other documents are open to the public.”Others see the situation differently, including Tricia Harrison, an associate law professor at Saint Louis University.
“To suggest that the general public has a right to know what any juvenile does in any situation is ludicrous,” she asserts.
Of course, the actions of minors are made public for a variety of reasons on a regular basis; and as Johnson notes, it is telling that even legal scholars are unaware of the law in regards to his request.
Charles C. Johnson @ChuckCJohnson Follow
It's sad to me that even some law professors seem not to know that juvenile records become public after death. #Ferguson #MichaelBrown
It's racist to release a dead white juvenile's records but not a dead black juvenile's records. #Ferguson #MichaelBrown
H/T: IJ Review
Photo credit: a katz / Shutterstock.com
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Informing And Equipping Americans Who Love Freedom
Photo credit: a katz / Shutterstock.com
This post originally appeared on Western Journalism – Informing And Equipping Americans Who Love Freedom
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