Judge again rules Van Dyke can't see records of Chicago teen

CHICAGO (AP) - A Cook County judge has again told a Chicago police officer charged with murder that his defense team can't have access to the teenage victim's juvenile records.

The Chicago Tribune reports (http://trib.in/2e8kPEM ) Judge Patricia Martin on Wednesday barred Officer Jason Van Dyke's attorneys from reviewing Laquan McDonald's records detailing his time as a state ward. Van Dyke is charged with murder in McDonald's October 2014 death, which left him shot 16 times.

The files are confidential but interested parties can have access with a judge's consent. Van Dyke's attorneys argue he qualifies as an interested party. But Martin disagreed, saying the murder charge itself doesn't make Van Dyke "an interested party in a child abuse and neglect case."

McDonald's mother, Tina Hunter, also has objected to release of the records.

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com