SAN DIEGO — The U.S Navy and the military judge that is presiding over the USS Bonhomme Richard arson trial are now under fire for failing to disclose documents and evidence presented at the trial of Seaman Ryan Mays.
In a newly filed federal lawsuit, news organization ProPublica, says the Navy and military judge, Captain Derek Butler is violating Mays' right to a public trial by keeping evidence, stipulations, and written motions under wraps.
"There is no legitimate basis for withholding these records. ProPublica understands they have been discussed in open court, and they are not under seal, classified, or otherwise restricted in any way. Court records of this kind would be available to the public in any other criminal court in the country," reads the lawsuit obtained by CBS 8.
Attorneys for ProPublica say that not disclosing evidence that was presented during the Navy's prosecution of Mays is akin to "government-imposed censorship" and is needed for the public to understand the Navy's case against Mays.
ProPublica's lawsuit comes more than two weeks after the investigative news organization joined dozens of other media outlets - including CBS 8's parent company, Tegna - demanding that the Navy and military judge Capt. Derek Butler urged them to release the evidence at trial.
"Such documents would be contemporaneously available to the press and public in a criminal proceeding in state and federal court and have been released in other high profile courts-martial within 24-48 hours," reads the September 13 letter. "Even in military commission proceedings in Guantanamo, they would be released within one business day."
ProPublica's lawsuit also arrives a day after the judge and attorneys on the case refused to release a handful of stipulations entered into the record.
Those stipulations include retracted testimony from an NCIS Special Agent who testified that Mays had tried to wipe his phone data and that he turned off location identifiers on his phone. Other stipulations include information that pointed to another suspect who was seen fleeing from the Lower Vehicle Storage deck minutes before the fire.
All of which, if made public could provide additional insight into the strength or weakness of the Navy's prosecution of Mays and the evidence they had before moving forward.
CBS 8 reached out to the Navy for comment. We will update the story when it responds.
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