Lawyers' attempts to get the media barred from a Whitehorse courtroom this morning were rejected by a territorial judge.

Crown prosecutors involved with a Dawson City murder case were in court today trying to get access to the confidential medical records, child welfare records and probation records of Justina Ellis. The 22-year-old woman is accused of killing her seven-week-old baby last year.

Peter Chisholm, head of criminal prosecutions, compared the court proceedings to the RCMP preparing information for a search warrant .

The public wouldn't be privy to such a process, Chisholm told territorial court Judge John Faulkner.

'The media doesn't have the right to view the warrant or documents seized,' said Chisholm.

The Crown and lawyers representing the accused and the territorial family and children's services branch therefore asked Faulkner if he would close the courtroom to the public.

They said court discussions could reveal confidential information about Ellis' mental health.

Faulkner agreed that the media would normally not be present when the RCMP prepare and execute a warrant, however, he said the courts are typically kept open so the justice system can be subject to public scrutiny.

He advised the lawyers to speak in general terms about the records in question. If there was a need to go into specific detail about them, he would consider closing the courtroom at that time to protect Ellis' information.

During these discussions, lawyers representing the accused and the family and children's services branch said medical and government records surrounding the accused should not be turned over to the Crown because of the sensitive material contained within.

Those lawyers said the information in the records might subject Ellis to certain prejudices.

They said there was mental health information contained in all the records and that there should be a balance between the Crown's need of the records and Ellis' right to privacy.

Faulkner noted that Ellis' mental situation is implicit in this case.

'It is not alleged against most mothers that they disposed of their babies in dumpsters,' said the judge.

Lawyers on the side of the accused noted that it wasn't necessary that Ellis' entire life be opened up to the Crown.

They suggested that if the Crown was to have access to any of the records, perhaps it should only be from a certain time period like when the now-deceased child was born in July 2004, or from the time of Ellis' pregnancy.

Chisholm said Crown officials needed all of the records so they could truly get a sense of the accused.

Some records date as far back as 1996.

'Overbreadth is another issue,' Faulkner told the lawyers.

Lee Kirkpatrick, a territorial lawyer representing the family and children's services branch, asked who would deal with the excess of information if records were released to the Crown.

'Who deems what is relevant?' asked Kirkpatrick. 'The police cannot because the documents are sealed. The court needs to review the documents with respect to relevancy.'

The judge suggested the Crown may get access to the records.

He reserved his decision for a future date, as he needs time to review the documents in question.

Faulkner may cut out certain parts of the information before the Crown gets a hold of the documents, if he feels certain facts are not important to the case.

'There may be occasions when Ms. Ellis visited a doctor because she had the flu or a broken arm. That wouldn't have any relevance,' he said.

Some of the records would be coming from the Dawson City Health Centre and the Dawson Medical Clinic.

The Dawson City Health Centre have no position as to whether the records be revealed, said territorial lawyer Zeb Brown, who represented the clinic.

The Dawson Medical Clinic had no representatives in court. Faulkner said it was likely because it has no interest in the proceedings.

Ellis was charged with second-degree murder.

Her daughter's body was found in a restaurant's trash can several blocks from her home last August.

A preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial is scheduled for March 29.

Chisholm said there are likely to be Outside experts called at the preliminary hearing.

Ellis has yet to make a personal appearance in a Whitehorse courtroom. She's being held in custody.

Faulkner said he would try to have a ruling on the documents before the hearing.