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Pastimes : Murder Mystery: Who Killed Yale Student Suzanne Jovin? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (1074)	4/4/2002 8:58:25 AM
From: Jeffrey S. Mitchell	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1397

Re: 4/4/02 - NH Register: Dearington appeals FOIC decision on Jovin files Front Page Dearington appeals FOIC decision on Jovin files Randall Beach, Register Staff April 04, 2002 State's Attorney Michael Dearington has appealed the state Freedom of Information Commission decision ordering the New Haven Police Department to release large portions of its files on the unsolved murder of Yale student Suzanne Jovin. In his appeal, Dearington said the FOIC ruling "seriously impairs" the police department's ability to investigate the murder and prosecute the case. Dearington, who said the police reports pertain to "an ongoing homicide investigation," filed the appeal in Superior Court at New Britain. Jovin, a Yale senior, was found at the corner of East Rock and Edgehill roads the night of Dec. 4, 1998, bleeding heavily from multiple stab wounds. The crime remains unsolved. The parties seeking release of the data include Jeffrey Mitchell of Westport, a friend of former Yale lecturer James Van de Velde, the only person ever named by police as a suspect in the case. Van de Velde has consistently maintained his innocence and has never been charged. However, police have refused to remove his name from what they call the "pool of suspects." Mitchell, who has been investigating the case as a private citizen, objected to Dearington's reasoning. "Dearington is not fooling anyone in arguing the public's right to know about this whole sordid affair would jeopardize a case everyone acknowledges is ice cold," Mitchell said in an e-mail to the Register. "On the contrary," Mitchell said, "being forthright with the public may even help solve it." Police maintain they continue to actively investigate the slaying. They recently asked the staff of the Yale Bulletin and Calendar to run a box appealing for help from potential witnesses of the crime. The box appeared in the March 29 edition. Yale officials also are paying a private investigator, Andrew Rosenzweig, to work on the case. Mitchell and the Hartford Courant contacted the FOIC last year after the police department denied them access to the files. The plaintiffs argued that police had opened the files to Rosenzweig and therefore couldn't withhold the information from them. Dearington has also asked the court to stay enforcement of the FOIC's decision. Setting the stage for what could be a protracted legal struggle, Dearington asked the stay be granted "until such time as the instant matter is concluded by way of appeal to this court and thereafter, the Appellate Court and/or the Supreme Court." In his appeal, Dearington said the FOIC ruling exceeds its statuatory authority, limits the police department's rights and violates the separation of powers doctrine of the Connecticut Constitution. Dearington also objected to the FOIC's description of Police Lt. Bryan Norwood's April 16, 2001 hearing testimony as "not accurate." Norwood testified the department never granted Rosenzweig access to the files. But the FOIC cited a police department letter which said private investigators were given full cooperation when they asked to see the material. However, Dearington said the finding that Norwood's testimony was not credible "is unsupported by the record and clearly erroneous." Dearington concluded the FOIC decision was "arbitrary, unsupportable and capricious." Police are not the only parties concerned about the files being made public. David Rosen, an attorney for Suzanne Jovin's sister Ellen Jovin, has said releasing the files would invade the family's privacy and reveal personal details of Suzanne's life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Randall Beach can be reached at rbeach@nhregister.com or 789-5766. ©New Haven Register 2002 newhavenregister.com