Gannett spent the bulk of the advisement saying that he is appointing a special investigator from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office to look into alleged leaks in the case. On Tuesday, Hal Haddon, a lawyer for Bryant, alleged in a motion that Eagle County Sheriff Joe Hoy, sheriff's investigators and other law enforcement officials were leaking negative information about Bryant to the media.

In an interview following the hearing, the judge said the allegations troubled him. "It is a concern I have on behalf of the court," Gannett said. "I became concerned last Wednesday when I saw things that suggested materials were coming from what I thought (was) undisclosed information."

He said that if the information reported in the media didn't come directly from the undisclosed materials, they closely "mimicked" it. The judge said that he, Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert and defense attorney Haddon met earlier Wednesday to discuss the alleged leaks. He said Hurlbert suggested, with Haddon's approval, a way to get to the bottom of the alleged leaks.

The judge, a former deputy sheriff in Pitkin County, said he felt a sheriff's department should investigate the allegations. "I wanted an investigative agency that was local and has the resources, skill and training to conduct a special investigation," Gannett said.

After meeting with Haddon and Hurlbert, Gannett called Pitkin County Sheriff Robert Braudis and asked him if his office could conduct the investigation. A couple of hours later, Braudis called back and said he would assign an investigator to look into the alleged leaks.

The judge said the investigator will answer to him. Although he has set no deadline for the investigator to report back to him in writing, the "timeline is relatively short," Gannett said. The judge said he will share the report with Hurlbert and Haddon and decide if a hearing is necessary.

We're becoming a fan of this judge. We like that he meets with the DA and defense counsel and they arrive at agreed-upon resolutions. It reminds us of the old saying, "Justice is a three-legged stool." Take one leg away and the system falls down. The court, the defense and the prosecution often need to work together, particularly when the integrity of the system is at issue.