By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER Associated Press
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A judge is reviewing a request by two media organizations to release any possible juvenile records of the unarmed 18-year-old who was killed by a police officer last month in suburban St. Louis.
The 45-minute hearing Wednesday before a St. Louis County family court judge didn’t reveal whether Michael Brown has such a record. The central legal question is whether Brown’s privacy rights extend beyond the grave.
Juvenile records are confidential in Missouri. Police have said Brown had no adult criminal record. A lawyer for the county juvenile office said only that Brown was never charged with a serious felony.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a northern California online journalist are seeking release of all of Brown’s juvenile records, if any exist. A Brown family attorney called the requests “shameful.”