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Noe Padilla Journal & Courier (Lafayette) LAFAYETTE, Ind. — After eight months of the Journal & Courier requesting documents from Fairfield Trustee Taletha Coles, Circuit Court Judge Sean Persin on April 29 ruled that Coles and her legal team must have the documents available for the J&C to examine effective immediately. At the hearing, the J&C's lawyer, Kyle Cray, requested that the court allow the news- paper access to all of the docu- ments requested and that were available through the Public Records Act. Coles' lawyer, Christopher Jeter, told the court that his team has reviewed the documents and that all of the requested docu- ments are available to be copied at the Fairfield Trustee office. "I've only been on this case for 14 days, and I think that I've done everything that I can do to make them available. I can't speak for the last eight months, but I can tell you that we've done our job as quickly as we could and got them available," Jeter said. Prior to the April 29 hearing, the court initially had scheduled a hearing on April 26 to produce the documents to the J&C. On April 25, Coles' lawyer filed a request with the court for an extension to produce the documents. Jeter requested the extension to review around seven bank boxes full of docu- ments that had been given to his legal team. Although Cray commended Jeter and his team for their coop- eration in reviewing and prepar- ing the documents for the plain- tiff, the J&C's attorney requested the court still issue an order that the Fairfield trustee produce the documents. "I don't have any problem with the way that the counsel has handled things. I know he has not been involved with this case since he has just had an appear- ance at the end of March. The problem is not that. I want to make sure that the record is clear, is that it's not a situation where we have had to wait now eight months with obstruction about every way we could," said Cray. "We want to make sure it is clear that the records requested in the original request are access to public records act-covered documents, so we have an order from the court. It's possible that regardless of the good faith in which opposing counsel has shown in reviewing the docu- ment, getting things ready, that we could still just be told no when we get there." Judge Persin asked Jeter if there were any documents he was holding back from those requested documents, to which he answered no. "So the order, and Mr. Cray, you'll prepare this, will show that the documents are avail- able effective immediately at the office of the Fairfield Township Trustee. That (J&C reporter) Ron Wilkins will have the opportunity to have to review Page 5 May 2022 Court rules township must hand over documents to newspaper "So the order ... will show that the documents are available effective immediately at the office of the Fairfield Township Trustee." — Judge Sean Persin news staff. The Times website is terrific. I can't wait to put my imprint on the operation." Hosey said he fell in love with journalism as he grew up reading New York newspapers, including the Daily News and its Pulitzer Prize-winning col- umnist Jimmy Breslin. He found his first job in jour- nalism at the Lincoln Courier near downstate Peoria, Illinois. Hosey first joined the Herald-News in 1999, cover- ing courts and public corrup- tion. He then worked on a Chicago Sun-Times investiga- tive reporting team and was a metro columnist. He became a field editor in 2010 of Patch, an online news streaming service, before returning to the Joliet Herald in 2017 to serve as top editor of the award-winning work by its newsroom's staff of report- ers and photographers. Chase said Hosey was lead reporter in the high- profile criminal case of Drew Peterson, the disgraced former Bolingbrook, Illinois, police sergeant who was convicted of murdering one wife and was a suspect in the disappearance of another wife. Hosey's work covering the Peterson case led to him author "Fatal Vows: The Tragic Wives of Sergeant Drew Peterson." That 2008 book was adapted by the Lifetime network for the movie, "Untouchable," starring Rob Lowe. Hosey has won a number of journalism accolades, includ- ing the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award from the National Press Club for a 2013 series about a horrific double murder. Hosey will be part of Chase's greater Midwest edi- tors team spanning more than 20 markets in Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota. Hosey Continued from Page 4 See Court, page 8 Connect with us. Follow HSPA on Twitter & Facebook. @OurRight2Know, facebook.com/ HoosierStatePressAssociation

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