NEW CANAAN, Conn. (WTNH) — Michelle Tronocis’ legal team will not be able to access sealed documents in a custody case between Jennifer Farber Dulos and Fotis Dulos, a state appellate court has ruled.
Jon Schoenhorn, Troconis’ lawyer, had appealed the decision a lower court had made. The state appellate court recently upheld the ruling, stating that trying to produce the transcripts “constituted an impermissible collateral attack on a sealing order.” A document of concurrence noted that the trial court doesn’t have the authority to overturn a sealing order that another court made in a separate case because it “would wreak havoc on the judicial system.”
Jennifer Farber Dulos filed for divorce in 2017. A custody hearing was held in 2019.
“While I do have other means available to get these transcripts if I need them, I still believe that the illegal withholding of court transcripts without a public hearing, a right to object, and a finding of good cause that outweighs the public’s right to attend court proceedings, is unconstitutional,” Schoenhorn said in a written statement to News 8. “I brought this civil action on my own behalf as a matter of principle. I guess the court is not as concerned as I remain about the secret proceedings held behind closed doors without a good cause finding. While I am disappointed in the ruling, it clarifies what remedy is not available. This ruling doesn’t hamper my representation of Michelle Troconis or any other client.”
Tronocis was Fotis Dulos’ live-in girlfriend when he allegedly killed his estranged wife in May 2019. Jennifer Farber Dulos’ body has never been found.
Troconis is facing charges of conspiracy to murder, tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution. Fotis Dulos died by suicide after being charged with murder.
Kent Mawhinney, Fotis Dulos’ former attorney, faces charges of conspiring to murder Jennifer Farber Dulos after authorities said he helped Fotis Dulos create an alibi.
Schoenhorn has faced his own legal challenges in the case, with the prosecution moving last year to remove him from Tronocis’ defense team. The state has argued that Schoenhorn had a sweatshirt that he planned to use as proof that Fotis Dulos did not kill Jennifer Farber Dulos, but has not answered questions about how he got the piece of clothing. He allegedly had it for a year before he turned it over to authorities.
This February, the state filed a motion to seal records regarding if communication between her lawyer and another attorney is considered privileged. It’s about if a letter written by her lawyer to another attorney is privileged communication.
A judge has not yet decided if Schoenhorn will be removed from the defense team, or if Schoenhorn’s request for the trial to be moved to another venue will be granted.