"We live in a post-Columbine High School massacre world. In that world, juveniles are willing to procure guns and use them to commit violent, horrific crimes. In this case, the previously unthinkable act of random killing took place in a mall in Salt Lake City. Sulejman Talovic was the shooter and he used a handgun and shotgun to kill five people. One of the murder weapons was procured from Mackenzie Hunter, and used to kill Vanessa Quinn. I write separately because the process in this case failed to adequately support the rights of crime victims such as Ms. Quinn as guaranteed by the CVRA," the judge wrote.

Tymkovich said the Antrobuses could have proven a connection between Hunter's crime and Quinn's murder had the federal government provided them with the adequate evidence to support their case.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah said it is not allowed to open its criminal investigative files unless authorized by law.

"We have extended every courtesy and opportunity we can to those affected by Talovic's horrendous actions at Trolley Square and will continue to do so. We care deeply about the impact it continues to have on the victims and their family members and others," spokeswoman Melodie Rydalch said Friday. "We cannot, however, open our investigative files without legal authority."

Skordas said if they prevailed before the nation's highest court, Hunter would likely have to be resentenced. The Antrobuses did not plan to attend Hunter's sentencing scheduled for Monday in a Salt Lake City federal court.

"I wanted to tell him personally how it's affected my family," Sue Antrobus said. "He worries about his sentence? That night we got the phone call, we were handed a life sentence. "

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com; gfattah@desnews.com