This is what it feels like when a judge rules in your favor.
I went to court because being an immersive true-crime journalist involves digging for every scrap of information – even if doing so means fighting city hall.
Background: When 41-year-old construction supervisor Troy Driver was arrested in Nevada for the abduction, rape, and murder of teenager Naomi Irion, I wondered what would make a man in midlife commit such a horrific crime.
After discovering that Driver had been an accessory to murder in California decades earlier, I began digging into his past. The court files in that case included an in-depth report about Driver, written by a probation officer who was legendary in his ability to analyze a subject’s background and personality. What would this report reveal?
The report about Driver was being held under seal, so I served a Public Records Act request on the court clerk and the probation department. But they refused to give me a copy of the report without a court order.
Maybe they thought I would give up and go away? Instead I filed a lawsuit – a slow and expensive process, but my readers expect complete commitment to uncovering the truth.
Now that the judge has ruled in my favor, the report will hit my desk soon.
You can find the case file here: Kari, Doug, vs Clerk of the Mendocino County Superior Court, Case No. 23CV01134, https://portal-camendocino.tylertech.cloud/Portal/Home/Dashboard/29
