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Judge says recordings in murder case are public

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  1. Freedom of Information
A Vermont District Court judge said that he thinks video and audio recordings of interactions the police had with a…

A Vermont District Court judge said that he thinks video and audio recordings of interactions the police had with a murder suspect are a matter of public interest that should be released. 

The suspect, Brian Rooney, is charged with the killing of University of Vermont senior Michelle Gardner-Quinn. The material in question covers interviews between the police and the suspect from the time Gardner-Quinn disappeared to when her body was found six days later. 

Finding that none of the 33 exceptions to rules governing availability to court materials were applicable in this case, Judge Geoffrey Crawford concluded the material is open to the public. However, Crawford ultimately left the decision to Judge Micheal Kupersmith, who has scheduled a hearing for Friday afternoon on whether to release the recordings

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