Amy Davis woke up to sirens before dawn on April 8, 2022.
Three doors down from her Bee Tree Street home in Westlake, her neighbor had shot a man.
But the particulars of the crime would remain hidden from public view. Davis has largely had to lean on rumors from neighbors about the status of the case.
Thatโs because the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Courtโs Office maintains that says they will not turn over violent crime records to the public without a signed order from a judge.
Attorneys and constitutional experts say the policy likely violates the state Constitutionโs open courts and public records provisions, and the First Amendment.
โThe whole point when you have a serious criminal allegation is that it be out there for everybody to see to make sure the punishment is fair, that the trial is fair and that people can see the repercussions of bad behavior,โ said David Cuillier, director of the Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida.
โThereโs a lot of reasons why transparency is built into the criminal justice system,โ he added. โWhat other government agencies out there can stop you on the sidewalk, can detain you, can throw you in a cell, can take away your children, can take your money, can take your life?โ
Lynn Jones, the longtime elected clerk of court for Calcasieu Parish, the stateโs seventh most populated parish, said nobody has previously questioned the policy. He said itโs meant to protect victims and juveniles.
โIf we make a mistake on that and it arbitrarily gets out and someone gets murdered, that comes back on us,โ he said.
Clerks of court across the state make criminal records available to the public every day. Calcasieu requires an order from a judge. Sex crimes, juvenile crimes and other confidential or sensitive information can be withheld or redacted in certain circumstances.
Three years after the shooting in Davisโ neighborhood, little is still known about what happened.
Westlake Police initially arrested Keri Buller Bradberry on counts of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated second-degree battery and three counts of domestic abuse battery with child endangerment, which they announced at the time. But state prosecutors went on to only charge her with illegal use of a weapon during a crime of violence.
Itโs unclear why, as those details are hidden away in the court file.
Davis, who works as a hairdresser, said her neighbors and clients have varying theories about why the case resulted in the lesser charge.
Without access to court records, however, itโs impossible to see an accurate picture of how it played out.
โEven if there isnโt anything underhanded going on, it looks underhanded,โ Davis said. โI think full disclosure is best.โ
'Whether itโs a murder or shoplifting, itโs all public record'
Jones has served as Calcasieuโs clerk of court for 21 years and has been reelected six times without opposition. The officeโs policy on concealing violent crime records predates his time at the helm, he said.
Just how long has the policy been in effect?
โForever,โ said Bethany Smith, who oversees criminal records for the office. โEver since thereโs been victims of crimes. Iโve been here 26-and-a-half years, and we handled it that way prior to me.โ
Neither Jones nor Smith is a lawyer.
โWe have no dog in this fight. We donโt care who sees what,โ Jones said, adding that they believe the policy helps to protect victims.
But McHugh David, executive director of the ถถา๕h Press Association, said he worries that the Calcasieu policy could inspire other clerks around the state to follow suit.
โWhat door does this open for clerks of courts in other places to institute restrictive policies on public records and due process in a place that doesnโt get a whole lot of attention?โ David said. โAn elected official at that level sure does have a lot of power.โ
After ถถา๕h sought access to criminal records for months and reached out to the clerkโs office for this story, Jones said he asked the opinion of local judges and other ถถา๕h clerks of court. Jones said they saw no problem with his policy.
Among those Jones said he consulted with was the Jefferson Parish Clerk of Courtโs Office.
But Jefferson Clerk Jon Gegenheimer, who is an attorney, said no one has consulted him, his criminal records staff or his staff attorney about Calcasieuโs policy. Criminal records are readily available for public view in Jefferson.
Gegenheimer also took issue with the policy in Calcasieu, noting that there are ways to protect victims without restricting public access to court records.
โWhether itโs a murder or shoplifting, itโs all public record,โ Gegenheimer said. โI can understand redacting the name of the victim, but the record should be there, available for public view.โ
'Conducted with this element of secrecy'
Criminal defense attorneys said the lack of transparency at the courthouse in Lake Charles has affected their ability to represent their clients.
Attorney Richard Bourke, whoโs based in New Orleans and is the director of the ถถา๕h Capital Assistance Center, represents clients across the state. In his experience, Calcasieu is the only jurisdiction that refuses to turn over criminal records.
He said the policy is directly contrary to state law and results in a less reliable criminal justice system.
โIt is shocking to think that in this day and age, we have a court system that isnโt open, and that instead is being conducted with this element of secrecy,โ Bourke said. โWhenever the state prosecutes an individual citizen, that needs to be done in the clear and open daylight, not covered up in secret.โ
Without transparency, thereโs nothing to protect defendants from wrongdoing in the criminal justice system, he said.
King Alexander, a Lake Charles criminal defense attorney, said the policy slows him down and creates unnecessary work for lawyers, judges and the clerkโs staff.
But he said itโs the public that bears the brunt of the harm.
โFor another citizen or a news organization, the policy would ostensibly prevent them from seeing or having these public records at all,โ Alexander said.
'The very purpose for having open records laws'
Decades of jurisprudence, analyzing constitutions and public records laws across the country, have favored access over privacy, except in rare instances. Louisianโs law allows for challenges in court when records are withheld, and says agencies that withhold records must cite their reasons for doing so.
Jones cites a state law that requires police, district attorneys and clerks of court to protect the identity of victims of sexual crimes and juvenile victims as his reason for keeping violent crime records concealed. But most clerks in the state redact names or use initials to identify victims, while the cases remain available for public viewing.
Jones has also still applied his policy in cases of violent crimes that involve two adults, and violent crimes with no sexual element.
First Amendment attorneys and experts also raised alarm about the policy.
Cuillier, of the University of Florida, said the policy in Calcasieu is about as bad as heโs seen, describing it as one of the most egregious violations of the publicโs trust that heโs witnessed in decades.
โIโm trying to think of anything that comes close,โ he said. โItโs just bizarre how blatantly bad that decision is.โ
Of all the court records that are of public interest, violent crime tops the list.
โThis is precisely the kind of information that the public wants and needs to see,โ said Robert Corn-Revere, an attorney with the national Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. โPeople need to know if their communities are safe or what kinds of law enforcement actions are being taken, and itโs the very purpose for having open records laws in the first place.โ
Calcasieu Parishโs policy deviates from standard practice for court records across the country and also poses constitutional concerns, according to Gunita Singh, a staff attorney who reviews public records laws across the country for the Washington, D.C.-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The public and press benefit from access to these kinds of records for multiple reasons, including learning about how law enforcement responds to crimes and how to analyze public safety trends, she said.
โWe stand to make connections between whatโs happening in our communities and broader policies surrounding firearms, mental health or controlled substances,โ she said.
'We welcome y'all to file suit'
Jones said he does not believe he is โoverprotectingโ by concealing violent crime records from the public.
โWe welcome yโall to file suit and let the courts decide, and we would be glad to do whatever the courts direct us to do,โ Jones said. โBut, as of right now, our judges and most of the legal people Iโve talked to believe that weโre doing the right thing, and that is to protect the victims.โ
As for Davis, the hairdresser who knows little about a shooting that happened on her street, she wants to see more transparency.
โIt should be public knowledge when someone shoots another person,โ Davis said. โAnd we should have the opportunity to know what happened, so we have the choice if we want to be around these people or not.โ