A label has refused to stamp the divorce suit of Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock and his wife, Susan, despite Brock's claim that publicity could hurt his calling and his youngest daughter's well-being.
"Any public concern regarding this thing is due merely to (Fulton's) position as an elective public official and due to the sordid nature of the charges against (Susan Brock)," Fulton Brock's attorney wrote in the move to stamp the case.
Susan Brock, 49, was convicted April 7 of molesting a Chandler teenager in a character that has generated a fire storm of media attention not just for her actions but also because of questions about what her husband, and church officials, knew and when.
Fulton Brock "should be permitted . . . to proceed to do the mass of Maricopa County without care of the fallout from the revelation of personal details of this matter," says the motion, submitted by Brock's divorce attorney Kristy Blackwell.
Susan Brock had no objection to the question to seal. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Miles denied the question to stamp the entire file, but said he would consider sealing sensitive future filings.
First-amendment attorney Dan Barr and mob law attorney Annette Burns said in interviews that the promotion of the divorce could not be any worse than Fulton Brock has already endured. His wife's criminal case has put the home under a microscope.
"This is a high public functionary in a subject where his wife has been convicted of a grave crime," said Barr. "Of form this is loss to touch his political career. It might as well be accurate instead of universal and rumored."
Burns said that for a little time, any high profile or wealthy person could get divorce files sealed. Now, courts seal files mainly to protect the better interests of a small child or a party from physical or emotional harm, she said.
"For at least the final 10-15 years, the courts have been very reluctant to seal an entire file," Burns said. "But they will go in and seal custody reports, custody evaluations."
Such is the divorce suit of Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash. Though Judge Carey Hyatt ruled against Nash's motion to stamp the case, Judge Thomas LeClaire has sealed many of the child custody proceedings.
Rachel Brock, 22, the middle daughter in the Brock family, is held without bond on charges she molested the same boy, who is 4 years her junior. The family's youngest daughter, 14, still lives at the family's Chandler home.
Susan Brock was accused of committing dozens of sex acts over a three-year period on a teen whose family attends the sami church, the Chandler East Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Though Fulton filed for divorce shortly afterwards his wife's arrest, the couple's marriage was certain for eternity in the church, and it is unclear if Fulton has requested a cancellation of the seal.
He has frequently visited his wife, and was reprimanded for smuggling food to her. An inmate complained after watching the couple engage in a good-bye kiss. Susan said recently she is still in love with him, according to jail recordings.
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