EDITORIAL: Court shouldn’t withhold IDs in stripper extortion case

The integrity of the American justice system is rooted in its transparency. Defendants face their accusers in public and have their charges adjudicated in open court. Taxpayers can see for themselves whether parties are treated fairly — or whether the system hands out special treatment.

A case making its way through U.S. District Court undoubtedly qualifies as the latter. It's enough to make anyone wonder whether they would be afforded such favoritism if they were entangled in a federal prosecution — and whether such a case actually unfolded as authorities claim it did.

As reported this week by the Review-Journal's Jeff German, Southern Nevada resident Ernesto Joshua Ramos has been indicted on a felony count of extortion. Ramos is accused of shaking down a prominent Las Vegas businessman after finding out that the man had sex with his girlfriend.

But we don't know anything about Ramos beyond his name. Authorities have withheld information they usually release for defendants, such as his age and his address. His girlfriend isn't identified, either. And the court has issued a protective order that prohibits the disclosure of the businessman's identity in any case filings.

The complaint says the businessman tipped the woman, an exotic dancer, many thousands of dollars over two years during frequent visits to an unidentified strip club, then had her join him on an overseas business trip. She used her cellphone to record them having sex.

Ramos subsequently began sending text messages to the businessman, including a video clip of the overseas rendezvous, threatening to tell his wife and family: "This isn't going to go away because of who you are." The FBI arrested Ramos after he took $200,000 from the victim in exchange for the phone and a computer.

Just because the details of a case are embarrassing doesn't mean the case can be kept secret. Unfortunately, U.S. District Court in Las Vegas makes the public's business private all too frequently, especially when someone deemed important might face certain shame. For many years, Clark County District Court did the same thing with civil lawsuits, sealing cases as favors to the wealthy and powerful.

Would an average person be spared such humiliation for exercising incredibly poor judgment? No way. And because of that, the public has every reason to ask whether justice is juiced.

To stop the cynicism, stop the secrecy.