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worth repeating |
The Founders Day Lecture at UGA was delivered this year by emeritus law professor Ron Carlson. Some excerpts: “What is the impact of broad and unrestricted gag orders on modern trials in high profile cases? On balance, their effect is often unfavorable. What heavy-handed gag orders result in in these big cases is stopping the flow of reliable official information and replacing it with rumors, speculation and selective leaks. We need look no further than the Kobe Bryant case to illustrate. After the official information about what Kobe allegedly did was shut off by a gag order, the public was exposed to a relentless drumbeat of unofficial information to the effect that Kobe’s accuser was mentally unstable, or worse. Attacked in some of the tabloids in a vigorous and enthusiastic manner, pressure built on the alleged victim. She received death threats. “These unfortunate developments suggest that when a gag order is imposed, it needs to be periodically reviewed by the judge who imposed it. If one side is being annihilated in the public forum by speculation, it may be appropriate for the party to respond with a measured amount of official, reliable information. . . . “While gag orders sometimes close out too much information, critics say they are topped by an overkill of investigative secrecy in some police investigations. In the Jon Benet Ramsey case, for a very long time authorities seemed to focus their efforts on the uncharged accusation against Jon Benet’s parents. Meanwhile, official information about the case was closed down. Recently the CBS program 48 Hours revealed information about a potential intruder. . . . Prospects for solution of the crime might be aided by the police considering the press to be an ally in the search for the killer. This is often a good move. Consistent publicity sometimes aids solution of an unsolved crime.” |
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—Beth
Roberts |
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