A judge’s decision to restrict access to records in the case of a cardiologist accused of sexually assaulting and drugging victims does not comply with a 2021 Colorado rule meant to shine a light on why courts sometimes keep documents from the public in criminal proceedings, news organizations argue in new filings.

The Colorado News Collaborative (COLab) and the Washington, D.C.-based Fuller Project are objecting to a Oct. 27 suppression order from Denver District Court Judge Eric Johnson, which includes exhibits admitted into evidence in open court during August and September preliminary hearings against Stephen Matthews, who faces dozens of felony counts.

“The Exhibits appear to have been admitted in open court and readily observed by anyone in the courtroom, including the public and the press,” says COLab’s objection, submitted Friday by attorney Rachael Johnson of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Having allowed these public observations, this Court cannot now try to put the genie back into the bottle and restrict access to the Exhibits.”

 “Needless to say, there is no basis, in law or common sense, for such information to be placed under seal, ‘restricted’ or ‘suppressed,’ and not available for public viewing and copying,” wrote attorney Steve Zansberg in a previous motion to unsuppress the records submitted for The Fuller Project, a global nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on women.