Documents sealed for now

Disclosing warrants in the murder of Eve Carson would be perilous, a judge rules

PITTSBORO -- Most of the court records in the Eve Carson murder case will remain under seal after a judge's order Tuesday.

Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour ruled that making search warrants and supporting materials available to the public would endanger two confidential informants, interfere with the police investigation and jeopardize the defendants' right to a fair trial.

The Durham Herald-Sun had filed a motion to unseal the records, which include sworn statements justifying the search warrants and lists of what investigators found. Such documents often describe leads that the police are following, and defense attorneys asked to keep them sealed because the allegations inside may not stand up under scrutiny.

"The affidavits and inventories contain information that could reasonably lead to undue speculation and conjecture," Baddour wrote. "The public has a right to information in criminal proceedings, but not in this specific case at this specific time, when it interferes with the public's interest in the investigation of crime, or the defendant's right (and public's right, for that matter) to a fair process, free from undue prejudice."

As requested by District Attorney Jim Woodall, Baddour will reconsider unsealing the records after 60 days.

Baddour said he considered unsealing some of the documents, perhaps with some of the text blacked out, but "it would be necessary to redact such a significant portion of the documents so as to render the exercise meaningless."

Police found Carson's body about 5 a.m. March 5 in a wooded neighborhood near UNC-Chapel Hill. Within days, they released security-camera photographs of suspects Demario James Atwater and Laurence Lovette.

The search warrants targeted Atwater, Lovette, Lovette's mother's home at 1213 Shepherd St. in Durham and an apartment at 2507 S. Roxboro St. in Durham.

In addition to the warrants and related documents, Baddour also reaffirmed Chief District Court Judge Joe Buckner's sealing of another document Atwater filed requesting some sort of help with his defense.

According to Baddour's order, Atwater's adequate defense demands "a complete inquiry into the facts as alleged by the state," which may include efforts "to obtain relevant records, to retain experts, investigators or interpreters, or, in the case of the indigent, to seek funds to pay for the above." Baddour said that disclosing the details of this inquiry "might very well inhibit the inquiry."

Herald-Sun attorney Elizabeth Spainhour said her clients were still trying to decide whether to appeal Baddour's ruling.