A high-stakes battle is underway in Boulder courts, spurred by a $750 million defamation suit, that could force police to turn over thousands of pages of investigative files on the unsolved murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
Lawyers defending the suit, brought by JonBenet Ramsey’s brother Burke Ramsey against the CBS Corp. for a 2016 documentary which suggested he could be responsible for his 6-year-old sister’s 1996 slaying, have issued subpoenas for vast numbers of files from the nearly 22-year police investigation. Burke Ramsey’s lawyers also have made a far more limited request for investigative documents from the police.
The police department, through the office of the Boulder City Attorney, is fighting to quash the subpoenas, stating that “the Boulder Police Department has two detectives assigned and continues to work diligently to solve the crime. Disclosure of police investigative files will adversely affect the investigation.”
The department also is seeking a protective order precluding discovery of its criminal investigative files, said to number now in excess of 60,000 pages.
Lawyers for CBS dismiss the potential harm to the beleaguered high profile case, stating in a filing Friday that “No fewer than 37 books have been written about the case, including two books by the Ramseys themselves, and several by former law enforcement agents who directly investigated the case.”
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/09/29/jonbenet-ramsey-boulder-defamation-suit/amp/