Denver ? The Colorado Supreme Court said Tuesday a sheriff can refuse to release videotapes and writings made by the Columbine gunmen before the high school massacre.

However, the sheriff’s refusal is subject to court challenge, the justices said.

The Jefferson County sheriff’s office seized the material from the homes of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shortly after the two killed 12 students and a teacher and committed suicide in April 1999.

The Denver Post filed suit seeking the material after the sheriff’s office refused to make it public.

Both the sheriff’s department and the parents of Harris and Klebold had argued that the material was private property and not subject to open-records laws.

The Supreme Court said the material is a public record. However, the justices said that because it was seized as part of a criminal investigation, state law allows the sheriff’s office to determine whether releasing it is in the public interest.

If the sheriff decides against releasing it, the law allows that decision to be challenged in court, the justices said.