Sam Sheppard was charged with stabbing his pregnant wife to death. Supreme Court case that paved the way for the use of court gag orders. In her order in the Kohberger case, Judge Marshall referenced Sheppard v. stabbed nine people and killed 3-year-old Ruya Kadir in 2018, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to murder and eight counts of aggravated battery. No such order was issued in the ongoing high-profile case against Lori and Chad Daybell, but the judge did opt to move their trials to Ada County from eastern Idaho because of local pretrial publicity.Ī recent high-profile case in which a judge did issue a gag order involved a mass stabbing in Boise. Gag orders in Idaho cases are fairly rare. One was also used at Michael Jackson’s criminal trial involving child molestation charges. Simpson, who was accused of killing the pair but found not guilty at a criminal trial. Simpson, for example, the civil case brought by the parents of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman against O.J. They have been used when a party involved is widely known by the public – a celebrity, a famous company, a politician or a government entity – or the crime is sensational in nature.Ī gag order was in place for Rufo v. Not surprisingly, judges generally issue such orders in cases that will attract significant media attention. Kohberger’s attorney, Anne Taylor, chief of the Kootenai County Public Defender’s Office, and Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson have supported the gag order. These orders are intended to protect a defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial by an impartial jury by stopping the spread of information that could prejudice potential jurors. Gag orders are issued by judges, sometimes at the request of attorneys, and they ban those involved in a case from speaking publicly about it.Īnyone who violates the order can be held in contempt of court, which carries a penalty of up to $5,000, five days in jail or both in Idaho. What exactly is a gag order and why is one used? Kohberger, who could face the death penalty, was arrested at his parents’ house in eastern Pennsylvania on Dec. Kohberger is facing four first-degree murder charges in the stabbing deaths of UI students Madison Mogen, 21, of Coeur d’Alene Kaylee Goncalves, 21, of Rathdrum Xana Kernodle, 20, of Post Falls and Ethan Chapin, 20, of Mount Vernon, Washington.Īll were killed in an off-campus house in the early morning hours of Nov. Legal fights aside, there also are questions about whether such orders do what they are intended or are “irrelevant,” as one expert said. The judge’s order – which was expanded in mid-January, not long after the initial order – prohibits a number of people from speaking publicly about the case, including the attorneys on both sides, investigators, law enforcement personnel and any attorney representing a witness, victim or victim‘s family. The family of one of the victims and a coalition of media outlets are fighting the order, saying it restricts their First Amendment rights by being overly broad. Not everyone agrees that she struck the right balance in a case that quickly and consistently made headlines across the country. BOISE – Just a week after Bryan Kohberger’s arrest in last year’s killing of four University of Idaho students, Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued a gag order in the case, citing the need for a “balance between protecting the right to fair trial for all parties involved and the right to free expression.”
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