Lytle judge orders open court

Questioning of potential jurors for the homicide-by-abuse trial of Jonathan Lytle will take place in open court, a Spokane County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday.

Lytle is charged in the death of his daughter, 4-year-old Summer Phelps, who died in a Spokane hospital on March 10, 2007. Medical personnel have called hers a case of “vicious child abuse” in court documents.

Lytle’s lawyers had sought to close the courtroom while jurors discussed their personal experiences with child abuse. His lawyers also wanted their responses to a lengthy questionnaire sealed in the court file. Spokane County prosecutors and a lawyer for The Spokesman-Review opposed the defense motion.

Of 105 potential jurors for the Lytle trial, 24 said they’d prefer to be questioned privately and eight asked that the courtroom be closed during their statements.

“You are getting some delicate answers,” said defense attorney Edward Carroll, who asked that the courtroom be closed for the eight who requested it because speaking in public would inhibit their answers and undermine Lytle’s right to an unbiased jury.

Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Jack Driscoll opposed the motion, saying the court should remain open because the law is in “a state of flux” after a recent Washington Court of Appeals decision that said a courtroom should never be closed.

Lytle’s trial “is an important case, and we don’t want to see it come back,” Driscoll said.

Courts are operating under a 1995 Washington Supreme Court case, State v. Bone Club, that requires courts to show a “compelling interest” for closure and to proceed in the least restrictive way.

Superior Court Judge Michael Price denied the defense motion.

“I’m satisfied it’s not necessary to close the court … Counsel can strike jurors if they are too uncomfortable,” Price said. Price said he’d reserve judgment on the sealing of any juror statements until the end of juror questioning.

Of the six jurors questioned this morning, only one – a woman who said her husband was emotionally and physically abused by his father – was dismissed for cause. The woman said it would be very difficult for her to hear the facts surrounding Summer Phelps’ death, and she’ll be assigned to another trial.

Jury selection will extend into next week, with group questioning scheduled for Tuesday.