RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesFormer Colorado football player Shilo Sanders is seeking to have the written transcript of his coming bankruptcy trial sealed from public view, along with any exhibits displayed at the trial where Sanders hopes to escape more than $11 million in debt, according to a new case document filed Aug. 3.
The filing says Sanders, son of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders , does not oppose keeping the trial proceedings public but wants to seal any written record of it in large part because the case contains information relating to when Sanders was a minor at age 15 .
Attorneys for USA TODAY filed a motion to intervene in the Sanders’ bankruptcy case July 22 − a request that seeks greater transparency in this high-profile case after several developments in it recently were conducted in secret, including a pretrial court hearing July 14 .
On July 31, Sanders’ attorney, Victor Vital, filed his response to that request under seal, keeping its contents from public view. USA TODAY’s attorneys, who have access to the response, replied with an Aug. 3 court filing that references what Vital proposed.
USA TODAY's filing notes that Sanders's response does not oppose keeping the Aug. 31 trial proceedings open to the public "but buries the fact that his proposed order would seal the complete trial transcript and any exhibits submitted as evidence at trial.”
“There is absolutely no basis to seal, prospectively, any trial transcript or any evidence in this run of the mill bankruptcy case, nor is there any basis to treat Defendant (Shilo Sanders) as somehow special because of his notoriety (indeed, it counsels exactly the opposite – no trial defendant should be given such a special privilege because of his fame and wealth)," said the reply from USA TODAY’s attorneys at Zansberg Beylkin LLC in Denver, which specialize in First Amendment cases.
The arguments are now in front of Judge Michael Romero for consideration, with a timeline for his decision uncertain.
Shilo Sanders is seeking to discharge more than $11 million in debt
In its motion to intervene, USA TODAY asked the court to unseal certain records in the case and to recognize its objection to any proposed closure of Sanders’ coming bankruptcy trial.
Sanders, now 26, filed for bankruptcy in 2023 in hopes of erasing more than $11 million in debt, almost all of which is owed to John Darjean , a former security guard at Sanders’ school in Dallas.
The debt stems from an incident between Darjean and Sanders in September 2015 , when Sanders was 15. Sanders’ attorneys have filed numerous documents under seal on the basis that they are subject to protective orders issued in court to guard their client's privacy, particularly because they contain sensitive information from when he was a minor.
What’s at stake in Shilo Sanders trial
Darjean filed a civil lawsuit against Sanders and his parents in 2016, accusing Sanders of assaulting him and causing him permanent injuries when he tried to confiscate his phone at school in 2015. Sanders’ parents were dismissed from the case by early 2019, leaving Sanders as the sole remaining defendant at age 19.
Sanders then dropped his attorneys in 2020 and didn’t show up for the trial in 2022 . As a result, a judge in Texas issued an $11.89 million default judgment against him after hearing Darjean’s evidence without any rebuttal from Sanders.
The issue now at the bankruptcy court trial is whether Sanders can discharge that debt and get a fresh start. Darjean is fighting to get all that he’s owed and has argued through his attorneys that Sanders shouldn’t be allowed to discharge the debt under bankruptcy law because it stems from a "willful and malicious injury." Sanders said he acted in self-defense and that Darjean was the aggressor. Darjean said Sanders aggravated an existing spinal injury that since has led to more surgeries and incontinence.
What USA TODAY seeks in its motion
Sanders’ attorney filed several motions under seal in May that sought to limit the scope of the evidence presented at the bankruptcy trial Aug. 31. Judge Romero then held a private hearing about those matters July 14.
In its motion to intervene July 22, USA TODAY asked the court to order the release of a redacted transcript of that hearing, along with the motions that were filed under seal by Sanders’ attorney in May.
The motion said press coverage of judicial proceedings is "vital" to protect the public’s right to know the workings of the judicial system.
USA TODAY's motion also noted that numerous details about the case had been publicly reported and that many court filings now under seal in a Texas court were publicly available for years, which is when they were obtained by USA TODAY.
Regarding the trial transcript and trial evidence, USA TODAY's Aug. 3 filing states Sanders' attempt to keep them from public scrutiny "violates the First Amendment's right of public access."
Degree of public scrutiny at issue
Neither Darjean nor Sanders opposed USA TODAY's motion to intervene , according to USA TODAY’s Aug. 3 filing. But Sanders differed on the degree of transparency he wants in the case, particularly as it pertains to written records.
USA TODAY wants the court to order Sanders and Darjean to submit public versions of all the filings that are currently sealed, redacting "only the portions thereof that the respective parties believe warrant confidentiality."
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer . Email: [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shilo Sanders seeks to seal written record of looming bankruptcy trial
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