In this Louisiana parish, people can't get some crime records. Advocates call it 'egregious.'

Amy Davis woke up to sirens before dawn on April 8, 2022.

Three doors down from her Bee Tree Street home in Westlake, her neighbor had shot a man.

But the particulars of the crime would remain hidden from public view. Davis has largely had to lean on rumors from neighbors about the status of the case.

That’s because the Calcasieu Parish Clerk of Court’s Office maintains a policy that says they will not turn over violent crime records to the public without a signed order from a judge.

Attorneys and constitutional experts say the policy likely violates the state Constitution’s open courts and public records provisions, the state public records law and the First Amendment.

“The whole point when you have a serious criminal allegation is that it be out there for everybody to see to mak