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An Idaho judge denied a request from about two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the case of a man accused of stabbing four college students to death.
However, the gag order was significantly curtailed in response to the organizations’ concerns.
The document was filed Friday afternoon in Latah County.
District Judge John C. Judge said in what is formally called a “non-distribution order” that all “prosecutors, defense attorneys, all plaintiffs’ agents and defense attorneys, and all attorneys who testify, victims, or the families of representing a victim, are prohibited from making any out-of-court statements (whether written or oral) that the attorney or representative knows or should reasonably know is likely to materially benefit or otherwise affect the outcome of the case.”
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Judge John C. Judge presides over an arraignment hearing for Bryan Kohberger, charged with the November 2022, May 22, 2023, murder of four University of Idaho students in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)
Judge said that to preserve the right to a fair trial, any restriction on the dissemination of information in the case is “necessary and permitted by law”.
That said, he also noted that the original gag order, which also banned law enforcement and others related to the case from speaking to the press, was “arguably too broad and vague in some areas.”
Judge wrote that the revised order is “narrowly drafted to prohibit only out-of-court statements that have a ‘substantial likelihood of material harm’ to this case,” including specific examples of what speech is prohibited and what is allowed.
Attorney Shanon Gray walks away from a stage after speaking with Latah County Judge John C. Judge during a gag hearing in a case against Bryan Kohberger in Latah County District Court on June 9, 2023 in Moscow, Idaho. Gray is the representative attorney for the Goncalves family, whose daughter was one of four victims in a November 2022 murder. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)
The judge also denied attorney Shanon Gray’s request to be released from the amended warrant. Gray represents victim Kaylee Goncalves’ family. Gray had asked to be removed from the warrant so he could speak to the press on behalf of the family.
Judge emphasized that as a lawyer, Gray could have access to confidential information about the case that would be detrimental if it were made public.
Gray has accused the prosecution of keeping the family in the dark.
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“I have not seen worse communication in my 22 years than with the prosecution and the Goncalves family,” he said, according to KTVB.
Kohberger, 28, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and burglary in connection with the stabbing in Moscow, Idaho. The judge noted that he “may face the death penalty if found guilty”.
University of Idaho students from left to right: Ethan Chapin, 20; Xana Kernodle, 20; Madison May, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21. All four were stabbed to death on November 13, 2022, in an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho. (Jazzmin Kernodle via AP/Instagram/ @kayleegoncalves)
The bodies of Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Ethan Chapin, 20, were found in a rental home across from the University of Idaho campus on November 13, 2022.
Kohberger was a graduate student studying criminology at Washington State University.
In January, Latah County Magistrate Judge Megan Marshall issued the sweeping injunction, and earlier this year 30 news organizations — including the Associated Press — asked the Idaho Supreme Court to dismiss it, arguing it violated First Amendment rights. .
Defendant Bryan Kohberger enters the courtroom for a gag hearing in Latah County District Court on June 9, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho. Kohberger is accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022. (Zach Wilkinson-Pool/Getty Images)
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The high court declined to weigh in, saying the coalition would first have to ask the lower court to lift the order.
“We are pleased that the court significantly limited the non-distribution order, a clear admission that the initial order was too broad,” Wendy Olson, the attorney representing the media coalition, said in a statement. “We all agree that a defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights are important, but that in preserving those rights, neither the parties nor the courts can completely override First Amendment press rights. The press offers in cases like this important transparency about how the criminal justice system works.”
Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News and Fox Business Digital.
