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	Judge Moves to Spare Family By Scott Smith The Record April 29, 2009 http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090429/A_NEWS/904290308/-1/A_NEWS STOCKTON - A judge who last week sealed the reports from 8-year-old Sandra Cantu's autopsy has now sealed a moot prosecution motion opposing the girl's disinterment, saying the Cantu family's privacy rights outweigh the public's need for the information. San Joaquin County Superior Court Judge Linda Lofthus said in Tuesday's order that she wants to ensure a fair trial for prosecutors and the defense attorneys of the woman accused of killing Sandra, Melissa Huckaby of Tracy. "The detailed information contained within the pleading and its attachments are inextricably intertwined with prejudicial information," Lofthus wrote. The motion - filed without a hearing before attorneys - is drawing criticism for being unusual and maybe improper. Huckaby, 28, is charged with murder, kidnapping and rape in Sandra's March 27 death. Sandra's body was found in a suitcase in a Tracy-area irrigation pond 10 days after she vanished. Shortly after Huckaby's arrest, San Joaquin County Public Defender Sam Behar sought to remove Sandra's body from its tomb so his pathologist could conduct an autopsy in an attempt to refute the sexual allegations. Behar later withdrew the motion, but San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Testa had already filed a motion opposing the removal. Lofthus' order keeps Testa's response secret. John Schick, a Stockton attorney and instructor at Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law, said it is highly unusual for a judge to seal a document independently in the interest of a victim's family. "A unilateral ruling like this without the opportunity for parties in the case to have their say is unusual and perhaps improper," he said, adding that the attorneys usually make such request. "Why do we have public trials?" Last week, on her first full day as the judge assigned to Huckaby's case, Lofthus imposed a gag order, preventing attorneys, law enforcement and relatives of Sandra or Huckaby from talking publicly about the case. Ruth Jones, an instructor at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento and a former prosecutor, said the gag order is an important tool to keep attorneys from giving their opinions in public, where jurors might hear. "In contrast, the sealing of documents moves closer to private proceedings," she said. "Our judicial system functions best when it is public." Lofthus did not say it, but she seems to want to protect Sandra's family from seeing gruesome autopsy details, Jones said. "If it's a high-profile case, those gruesome details will eventually become public if there's a trial," Jones said. "We as a society have a right to see the evidence." Huckaby is expected back in court May 22. Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@recordnet.com
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