JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Gloria Williams case negotiated a private handoff of public records, ensuring the information was not disclosed to the media.
Assistant State Attorney Alan Mizrahi said he met with Diana Johnson, attorney for Gloria Williams, at police headquarters last April to review thousands of pages of records in the 18-year-old case.
Johnson asked for about 1,000 pages of documents, which were turned over to her. However, the records were not entered into the court record as "discovery" -- the formal name for material that may be introduced as evidence.
The April handoff was made outside of the traditional discovery process, Mizrahi told the court. Keeping the request off the docket delayed -- and in some cases prevented -- media requests for the public records.
"The parties agreed no formal discovery would be made in the case," he told Circuit Judge Marianne Aho. "We agreed to go to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and went through the case file together."
Aho heard two hours of arguments about whether those records should be formally sealed in the case.
Johnson introduced evidence of hundreds of articles and social media postings about her client, who is accused of kidnapping baby Kamiyah Mobley in 1998.
Johnson introduced articles about the case from publications as far away as Nigeria and the Czech Republic. She argued that widespread media coverage will inhibit Williams' ability to get a fair trial. She argued that limiting additional exposure supported her request to keep public records under seal.
"We don't know if we can get a fair jury. I'm fairly sure we cannot," she said.
Attorneys for local media outlets, including First Coast News, countered that the mere fact of widespread media coverage does not mean Williams cannot get a fair trial.
First Coast News, WJXT and Action News all filed motions opposing the request to seal the public records.
Attorney Jennifer Mansfield, representing First Coast News, noted "the case hasn't had the level of publicity of Casey Anthony or the George Zimmerman case or the Michael Dunn case."
Mansfield noted that the behind the scenes maneuvering by defense lawyers and prosecutors to keep discovery off the court docket was troubling.
"The scenario we heard here disturbs us," Mansfield said. "That's very concerning."
The State Attorney's Office issued this statesment after Friday's hearing:
"In an effort to save resources, both time and money, the defense was provided open-file discovery. This was not intended to circumvent public access to records. The defense seeks to protect these records — this issue is between the defendant and the court."
Judge Aho did not make an immediate ruling on Williams request to keep the documents secret. She gave the defense until noon next Friday to prepare a list of documents she would like to keep under seal.
The case is set for trial Feb. 12.
