ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A Lehigh County judge allowed an emergency motion seeking to unveil criminal dockets for public review to continue in criminal court.
Judge Thomas Capehart on Friday determined the motion, brought by lehighvalleylive.com, LehighValleyNews.com and The Morning Call, belonged in criminal court rather than civil court.
While the Lehigh County District Attorney's office sought to have the matter dismissed, Capehart instead ordered the matter be transferred to the appropriate court.
He did not consider any merits of the case.
Acting on behalf of the three news outlets, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press had difficulty filing the motion as the news agencies are attempting to review court documents that have not been formally entered into the court system. The motion was filed in civil court at the instruction of court clerks.
The media agencies are trying to review court documents outlining the evidence and charges against at least 22 defendants — including Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi — that prosecutors say is tied to an interstate drug ring following a three-year grand jury investigation.
District Attorney Gavin Holihan announced in August that investigators had destroyed two clandestine drug labs in the region and seized more than $100,000 in cash.
Defendants were arrested as far away as Philadelphia, Chicago, New York City and Wisconsin, he said at the time.
But since then, prosecutors have disclosed little new information about the investigation. Court dockets that identify defendants, their charges and their next court hearing are blocked from public view even as suspects have been arrested and either held in jail or released on bail.
Holihan has declined to provide further information, saying the investigation is ongoing and the records under a court seal.
The document sealing the orders is itself sealed under a grand jury presentment and cannot be accessed by the public. The Pennsylvania Constitution guarantees access to court records, though exceptions can be made to protect sensitive information.
Holihan has identified only one defendant — Cole-Borghi, who is charged with possession with the intent to deliver marijuana. Holihan said he identified him to dispel rumors he faced more serious charges or had a prominent role in the alleged operation. Cole-Borghi, who was re-elected in Tuesday's election, has denied wrongdoing.
By trawling through miscellaneous court records, the outlets and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press have identified 15 other defendants. Ten of the known defendants have been released on bail.
At least some of the defendants still haven't received documents outlining their charges even as they sit in jail.
Alexandria Crouthamel, a defense attorney representing Christopher Williams, filed a motion Thursday requesting that her client's arrest warrant, criminal complaint and affidavit of probable cause be released so she can prepare his defense. The order sealing those documents expired in September but still have not been turned over, she wrote.
Williams, 32, of Emmaus, faces charges related to organized crime and racketeering. He is being held at the Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $250,000.
