Texas appeals panel won't lift gag order in trial of mom charged with killing kids
By The Associated Press
08.03.01
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HOUSTON — A request to lift a gag order in Andrea Yates' capital murder case has been denied by a three-judge panel of the 14th Court of Appeals.
The ban on lawyers, police and witnesses in the case of the mother accused of drowning her five children in a bathtub does not infringe on First Amendment freedom of the press, the Texas appeals court ruled yesterday.
In an opinion written by Justice Charles Seymore on behalf of a panel of three judges, the court ruled that the news media has a right to attend and report on a trial, but not a right to much more.
Yates, 37, of Clear Lake has been indicted on two charges of capital murder in three of the deaths.
One capital murder charge accuses Yates of killing more than one person and a second accuses her of killing someone younger than 6 years old.
On July 30, the same day Yates was indicted, her lawyers filed a notice that they intend to mount an insanity defense.
The appellate opinion characterized the local and national news coverage of the case as a "maelstrom of media attention" and said Harris County residents were "inundated" by news reports of the case, including facts relating to a confession leaked to the media and information about Yates' state of mind.
When imposing the gag order June 26, state District Judge Belinda Hill said public comments about the case would increase publicity and could taint the jury pool before Yates' trial. Hill explained in her order that no less restrictive means existed to deal with this threat to the judicial process.
The request was filed by the Houston Chronicle.
"We're disappointed by the ruling and we're considering our options," said Tommy Miller, the newspaper's managing editor.
The newspaper could ask for a hearing from the full 14th Court of Appeals.
Chronicle lawyer William Ogden called the opinion "an Iron Curtain view of newsgathering rights."
"When the court says reporters have only a right to 'sit, listen, watch and report' on a trial, it might as well have added 'roll over and play dead, too,'" Ogden said.
Update
Husband of suspected child killer speaks to news media despite gag order
Russell Yates, prosecutor could face up to six months in jail and up to $500 in fines for contempt of court by granting interviews.
12.10.01
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