Trial starts for Medicine Hat girl accused of killing family

A murder trial began Monday for a 13-year-old accused of killing her family in Medicine Hat, Alta., in 2006.

The girl has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first degree murder in the deaths of her parents and eight-year-old brother in April 2006.

The trial of her co-accused, 23-year-old Jeremy Steinke, will be held later.

The first weekof the teen's trialhas been set aside for a voir dire, legal proceedingsthat examine the admissibility of evidence.

Defence lawyer Tim Foster has applied to keep the public and the media out of the courtroom during this process. He has refused any interviews on the matter.

Fred Kozak, a media lawyer hired by the CBC to argue against that exclusion in court on Monday, said it was the first time thathe has heard of an application to ban the public and the media from such proceedings.

"Our argument will be that the judicial system, including voir dires, have to be open and transparent and that publication bans have proven to be an effective mechanism that balance the fair trial rights of the accused with freedom of expression."

The teenage girl, who cannot be identified under terms of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been in custody at the Calgary Young Offender Centre for more than a year.

She is to be tried by a jury, which will not be chosen until next week.