Apr 11, 2023 2 min read

The Observer-Reporter and two other area newspapers are petitioning the state Superior Court for an expedited opinion on the extent to which court documents are sealed in a Rostraver homicide case.

In February, the court issued a split decision requiring the release of the public docket that included what criminal charges Keven Van Lam faces in connection with the Nov. 5 shooting death of Boyke Budiarachman in the Rostraver Square strip mall parking lot, but kept details and the arrest warrant sealed until after the preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing has been delayed five times, including again on Monday, when it was pushed back to June 20.

The Observer-Reporter is joined in the case by the Herald-Standard and Mon Valley Independent, and they are being represented by lawyers from the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C.

Lam, 55, of Philadelphia, is charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of criminal homicide and one count of evidence tampering in connection with the death of Budiarachman, 49.

The state Superior Court said in its original order that it planned to offer a more detailed opinion on the matter after Lam’s preliminary hearing was held, but the multiple continuances since then have only delayed that process, attorneys for the newspapers argued in their filing.

“This Court correctly recognized the importance of timely resolution of the access issues in this case by granting Media Intervenors’ motion to expedite and promptly ruling on their appeal,” reads the court filing. “Now, however, numerous continuances and sealing extensions have impeded that timely resolution.”