BELLINGHAM — The sentencing hearing for a Bellingham man found guilty of neglecting his infant son until he starved to death will be open to the public and press.
Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Rob Olson on Tuesday denied a motion by Cody James Shields’ attorney to close the courtroom for any part of the sentencing hearing and seal records related to Shields’ mental health.
A jury unanimously found Shields, 29, guilty of second-degree manslaughter July 14 in Whatcom County Superior Court for the Dec. 8, 2015, death of his 3-month-old son Lucian Mykael Shields.
Shields’ defense attorney, Carl Munson Jr., filed a motion Oct. 8 seeking a mental health sentencing alternative for Shields.
Shields is seeking the mental health sentencing alternative under a new state law that allows for eligible defendants to be sentenced to treatment rather than prison time. The law, which took effect July 25, would allow Shields to be sentenced to up to two years of probation, during which time he would participate in an approved treatment plan.
In the October motion asking for the sentencing alternative, Munson also asked for the courtroom to be closed from the public and press for part of Shields’ sentencing hearing in order to discuss Shields’ mental health diagnoses.
Munson filed a separate motion Jan. 25 asking the court to close the courtroom during the time when Shields’ mental health issues were being discussed at his sentencing and to seal documents that mention Shields’ mental health, according to court records.
Bellingham Herald fought closure
The Bellingham Herald’s attorney, Michele Earl-Hubbard, filed a motion Jan. 31 opposing closure of the courtroom and the sealing of records, arguing that doing so would be unconstitutional.
Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Richey filed a motion Feb. 8 also asking the court to deny Shields’ motion to close the courtroom and seal records, the court records show.
At a hearing Tuesday, Munson said court closures should be considered on a case-by-case basis and that he wasn’t asking to close the courtroom for the entirety of Shields’ sentencing, just a specific part of it. Munson said Shields was the one asking for the closure, and that he had a right to individual privacy in regards to his mental health issues.
“The Supreme Court in the United States has recognized for over 50 years an individual’s right to privacy, so I think it is a compelling interest that needs to be considered,” Munson said Tuesday. “I believe Mr. Shields’ interests outweigh the public’s interests in that particular portion of the hearing.”
Richey said at Tuesday’s hearing that the qualifications that determine whether Shields’ receives a sentencing alternative or not are a “foremost concern for the community.” Richey said he didn’t know how only a portion of the sentencing hearing could be closed, when Shields’ mental health will likely be brought up throughout the entirety of the hearing.
Earl-Hubbard said this was a First Amendment issue and that there was no compelling interest that overcomes the Constitutional rights of freedom of speech and the press. She said that only Shields’ interests were served by a court closure, and that the public, witnesses and victims also have a right to see justice performed openly in Washington state.
“The people of the state of Washington deserve and need to see how this court applies this brand new statute to decide the sentencing alternative, to decide whether or not Mr. Shields qualifies, to decide what information is appropriate and not and then ultimately to decide his sentence. And what Mr. Shields is arguing is that the prosecution, Mr. Shields and his attorney, and this court can have some secret meeting where they decide what matters, they decide what applies and then they announce results in public, and that is simply not what the Constitution allows,” Earl-Hubbard said.
Shields’ put his mental health at issue by asking the court for different treatment in the form of a sentencing alternative, Earl-Hubbard said. When defendants ask for lighter sentences or sentencing alternatives and place things like mental health at issue for the court to consider, that can’t happen in secret, she said.
“There is no way the public can understand what you did and why you did it and how this law operates if they can’t see and understand what it is you do. They also can’t see how other defendants are treated, how this law is applied, whether treatment is being applied fairly by judges all over the state and by prosecutors if they can’t see every individual case,” Earl-Hubbard said.
No ‘compelling interest’
Judge Olson said historically the system of government has operated in a way that is against incarcerating individuals by way of secret proceedings, and that a multi-part test must take place to determine whether a court closure can be granted.
Olson determined Shields did not meet the first part of the test, which requires the party asking for the closure to show a compelling interest for why the closure should take place. Olson said that Washington’s various “sunshine laws” make the openness of government activity and availability of government records to the public an essential government function. He also said while the revelation of Shields’ mental health issues may be embarrassing to him, it does not constitute a danger to Shields’ life.
Olson said sentencing hearings are a public act, and that by seeking a sentencing alternative, in which the “application for a sentencing alternative is inextricably linked to the sentencing as a whole,” Shields has acted in a public way.
While the state’s statute may allow for a courtroom closure and the sealing of records, Olson found that the statute did not trump the Constitutional rights of freedom of the press and that the interests of the public and press outweighed Shields’ interests.
Lucian’s mother, Brittany Shane Daniels, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison in January 2020 for her son’s death. Daniels pleaded guilty in November 2019 to one count of second-degree manslaughter. She was given an agreed-upon exceptional sentence below the standard range in part for her testimony against Shields during his trial.
Shields’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 24.
If Shields is not given the mental health sentencing alternative, he is facing a standard range of 1 3/4 years to 2 1/4 years in prison.
