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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Defense attorneys for the man charged in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart are asking a federal judge to let them release redacted versions of all court papers filed under seal in the case.
In court papers filed Tuesday, attorneys for Brian David Mitchell say the documents should be made public to balance information about Mitchell's competency circulating in news reports.
Documents filed publicly by prosecutors on Sept. 29 included excerpts from a 206-page report by a forensic psychiatrist who evaluated Mitchell and diagnosed him with a variety of mental disorders.
The defense contends the information should have been private until a competency hearing scheduled for Nov. 30.
Both sides signed an agreement in April that was later endorsed by a judge to avoid trying the case in the media.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
