Court lifts order barring news media from identifying alleged rape victims

By The Associated Press

09.03.02

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LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas Review-Journal has successfully petitioned a judge to lift an order preventing the news media from identifying women who have accused a man of rape.

Saying that the "First Amendment is as strong as ever," District Judge Michael Cherry ruled Aug. 30 that the decision on whether to identify alleged rape victims who testify in court should be left to area media outlets.

Review-Journal Editor Thomas Mitchell said afterward that the newspaper does not intend to immediately publish the names of Steven Newberg's accusers. He said the paper fought Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman's order because it was improper.

"We went to court as a matter of principle," Mitchell said. "They cannot tell us how to write a story or what to write."

Cherry's ruling stems from the criminal case of Newberg, 37, who is charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and kidnapping in what authorities say are the rapes of three females.

During a preliminary hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court earlier this year, Zimmerman granted a prosecutor's request ordering the news media not to publish the names or photographs of the three females. The Review-Journal subsequently asked Zimmerman to lift the order, but she refused.

After Newberg's case was bound over to District Court, the newspaper petitioned Cherry to lift Zimmerman's order.

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Las Vegas newspaper asks judge to lift gag order in rape case
Review-Journal attorney tells newspaper that gag order essentially serves as prior restraint, unfairly treats the press differently than the public.  08.29.02