Judge in Loughner case to mull release of records (AP)

SAN DIEGO – A judge overseeing the criminal case against the suspect in the Tucscon, Ariz., shooting rampage will consider whether to release a new mug shot of the suspect and unseal records of a police search of his house.

Federal prosecutors and lawyers for 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner oppose requests by news organizations to hand over the photo and make an immediate release of search warrant records. Loughner will not attend Friday's hearing.

The company that publishes The Arizona Republic and the Phoenix TV station KPNX are seeking records that show which items investigators took in a search of Loughner's house after the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson.

The attack outside a grocery store killed six people, including a 9-year-old girl, and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others. Loughner pleaded not guilty to federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and kill two of her aides.

The indictment specifying those charges superseded an earlier federal complaint that also charged him with murder for the deaths of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords aide Gabe Zimmerman.

Another indictment is expected to restore those murder charges. Loughner also will likely face state charges in the attack.

U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns of San Diego was appointed to hear the case after all the federal judges in Arizona recused themselves because of their connection to Roll, who was the chief federal judge in Arizona.

David Bodney, an attorney representing The Arizona Republic and KPNX-TV, argued in court papers that there's no basis for the records to continue to be sealed, that the public has a right to the records that have been under seal since Jan. 11, and that prosecutors haven't shown how making the document public would harm their case.

Judy Clarke, one of Loughner's attorneys, said in court records that her client's right to a fair trial might be harmed by the release of search warrant records.

She also said the documents contain potentially inflammatory statements by a law enforcement officer and that releasing the information could have a prejudicial effect on the prospective jury pool.

Prosecutor Beverly K. Anderson said in court papers that the federal government agreed with Loughner's attorneys who maintain the records shouldn't be released until lawyers litigate issues based on the items seized from the suspect's house. But Anderson said if the judge decides to unseal the records, prosecutors want parts of the records to still be kept private.

Loughner's attorneys also asked the court to bar the release of a mug shot taken in Phoenix of Loughner while in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The unreleased photo is a different image from a mug shot that was released by the Pima County Sheriff's Office two days after his arrest.

Prosecutors described the new mug shot as showing Loughner with abrasions on his face and a cinderblock-wall background.

Clarke argued the new photo invades Loughner's privacy rights, doesn't serve any legitimate public interest and that mug shots reveal people at their most humiliating moments.

Prosecutors, who didn't oppose Loughner's mug shot request, said flawed case law binds the Marshals Service to release the photo, but noted that the judge could protect Loughner's fair trial rights from pretrial publicity.

The news organizations that initially requested the mug shot included the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, KOLD-TV in Tucson and KPHO-TV KTVK-TV, both in Phoenix.

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Associated Press writer Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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Judge delays records release in Arizona shooting (AP)

SAN DIEGO – News organizations failed to persuade a federal judge Friday to release a second mug shot and search warrant records involving the suspect in the Arizona shooting rampage that killed six people and wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, among others.

U.S. District Judge Larry A. Burns said he was leaving it up to the U.S. Marshals Service to decide whether to release the mug shot of 22-year-old Jared Loughner taken in Phoenix while in the custody of the agency.

Burns also held off on unsealing search warrant records that show what was seized from the home of Loughner after the Jan. 8 shooting. The judge said the investigation is ongoing and another indictment is expected to bring additional federal charges.

The unreleased photo is a different image than the mug shot released by the Pima County Sheriff's Office two days Loughner was arrested.

Defense attorneys argued the new photo invades Loughner's privacy and doesn't serve any legitimate public interest. In addition, mug shots reveal people at their most humiliating moments, the lawyers said.

Prosecutors described the photo as showing Loughner with abrasions on his face and a cinderblock-wall background.

Burns said he did not agree the photo would invade the suspect's privacy or harm his chance at a fair trial, but he said he didn't have the authority to rule on the matter because the 6th Circuit requires the U.S. Marshals Service to release the photo. Two of the 15 media outlets that have requested the photo are in the 6th Circuit area.

"We're making these pictures seem way more ominous than they really are," Burns said, adding the second mug shot is much "tamer" than the first one that has been widely circulated on the Internet. That photo showed Loughner wide eyed and smiling.

Defense attorneys had argued the release of the search warrant documents also would harm Loughner's chances of a fair trial.

Loughner has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of trying to assassinate Giffords and of killing two of her aides. He was not at the hearing in San Diego.

Burns said he disagreed with defense arguments but would hold off for now because of the ongoing investigation and the expected indictment following an earlier federal complaint that also charged Loughner with murder for the killings of U.S. District Judge John Roll and Giffords' aide Gabe Zimmerman.

The upcoming indictment is expected to restore those murder charges. Loughner also will likely face state charges in the attack.

Burns indicated he may unseal the records after a hearing on March 9, when he will consider a request by prosecutors to get handwriting samples from Loughner to compare with documents seized in a search of his home. Burns said the government has told him by then they expect to have all charges "crystalized."

"It will likely be a different story as of March 9," Burns said.

David Bodney, an attorney representing The Arizona Republic and Phoenix TV station KPNX, argued it is time to release the records and there's no basis for the documents to remain sealed. He said the public has a right to the records that have been under seal since Jan. 11, and that prosecutors have failed to show the material would harm their case.

"Logic tells me these are public records," he told the judge.

Bodney said the FBI has handed over all its material to U.S. prosecutors, indicating the crux of the investigation is over and would not be jeopardized.

U.S. Attorney Beverly Johnson told Burns that wasn't true. Burns agreed with her.

Defense attorneys said the documents contain potentially inflammatory statements by a law enforcement officer and that releasing the information could have a prejudicial effect on the prospective jury pool.

Burns was appointed to hear the case after all the federal judges in Arizona recused themselves because of their connection to Roll, who was the chief federal judge in Arizona.

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Associated Press writer Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix contributed to this report.

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