A preliminary examination, at which a judge determines if there’s enough evidence for a case to proceed to trial, can be one of the most revealing parts of a court case.

Basic evidence is presented and both the prosecution and defense lay out parts of their arguments. Through those efforts, major details — often previously unknown, because police often don’t release information about a case while it’s ongoing — are revealed to the public.

That’s why we’re glad 88th District Court Judge Alan Curtis ruled against a motion from Brad Srebnik, one of two people accused in the deaths of Brynn Bills and Abby Hill, to deny the media access to his upcoming prelim.

Srebnik and Joshua Wirgau face many charges related to the 2021 deaths, one of the most shocking crimes to rock the Alpena area in years.

Many questions remain unanswered to the public, including why the women were killed and how they got involved with the defendants. And those answers — which could be revealed at a prelim or subsequent trial — could tell us a lot about how safe the public was or wasn’t while those two men were on the streets. Were the killings isolated incidents or part of a broader problem affecting Northeast Michigan? Answers to questions like those could be revealed in court.

The media, representing the public, should have access to hear those answers.

The public, which includes the media, also should have access to every part of a court case to measure the effectiveness of elected prosecutors and judges and to measure the police’s case against the defendants to ensure the defendants get a fair trial.

For all those reasons and more, we commend Curtis for denying the motion to suppress media access.