With the election now less than a week away, Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons continues to battle accusations that he assaulted a cocktail waitress in a Las Vegas parking garage two weeks ago.

But a development Tuesday in District Court may help bolster the congressman's contention of innocence.

By now, most informed Nevadans are familiar with the story. Mr. Gibbons, Ms. Mazzeo and others shared cocktails at a steakhouse the evening of Oct. 13. Upon leaving, Mr. Gibbons escorted Ms. Mazzeo to her vehicle.

At some point, he says she slipped and he grabbed her arm to hold her up. She maintains, however, that he pinned her against the wall of a parking garage and threatened to sexually assault her. She says she managed to run away when a few people happened to walk by.

Ms. Mazzeo called police that night, but after responding they said they found nothing to warrant a further investigation and that the alleged victim had declined to pursue the matter. On Monday, though -- after holding a highly publicized press conference last week -- Ms. Mazzeo reconsidered and signed a complaint at Metro headquarters. Police said they'll re-open the case.

Part of that investigation will no doubt involve the surveillance cameras at the parking garage in which the incident supposedly took place. A security guard at the garage originally told police that the cameras were not working the night of the controversy. But last week, Las Vegas police were told by the company that owns the structure that the tapes did indeed exist. Detectives have watched the video -- and word is that neither Mr. Gibbons nor Ms. Mazzeo show up on the tapes.

News of that twist prompted Mr. Gibbons and some of his defenders to pounce. "I've not seen the tapes, but I don't need to see the tapes because I know I wasn't in that garage, so the tapes can't possibly hold an image of Jim Gibbons assaulting that women," the candidate said on Monday, maintaining that he walked Ms. Mazzeo up to, but not into, the structure.

Don Campbell, an attorney for Mr. Gibbons, was in court yesterday seeking the release of the tapes. That prompted a predictable outburst from Ms. Mazzeo's attorney, but in fact there's no reason for the police to withhold this evidence from the public, especially considering the totality of circumstances.

Ms. Mazzeo's allegations are at the center of the Nevada governor's race. Surely, the voting public's right to know as much as possible about this issue before they go to the polls to determine the future of this state far outweighs any privacy concerns.

Thankfully, District Judge Douglas Herndon agreed. On Tuesday, he rejected arguments from Ms. Mazzeo, prosecutors and the police and ordered the tapes be made available, citing his very strong belief in open government.

It would be foolish to predict where this matter will lead or whether the tapes exonerate or incriminate anybody. But Judge Herndon deserves credit for making the correct call. Will it matter to voters?