Lawmaker Takes up Fight by Wetterlings to Limit File Access

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A Minnesota lawmaker is proposing a new limit on public access to police files in light of the legal battle by the family of a slain Minnesota boy whose case remained unsolved until last year.

Patty and Jerry Wetterling want to prevent the release of 168 pages of court documents related to the 1989 kidnapping and killing of their son, Jacob.

Minnesota state Sen. Richard Cohen's bill would allow people involved in criminal investigations to request that information about them be kept private if it is irrelevant to the preparation or prosecution of the case. That determination would be left up to law enforcement.

Open records advocates worry that the bill would restrict access to files that have been open to the public for decades.