Lawyers: Comply with the gag order

11 February. Lawyers for a suspect in the Moscow four-murder case argue that Gonçalves’ family lawyer should remain part of a ban on silence barring him from speaking in public.

This non-disclosure order, or non-disclosure order, was signed by Latah County Magistrate Megan Marshall and prohibits the lawyers of all those involved in the case from speaking publicly about the murders in the media.

The gag order states that its purpose is to protect the right to a fair trial.

The suspect, Brian Kochberger, was arrested on December 30th. He faces four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary resulting from stabbing University of Idaho students Kaley Gonsalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle, and Ethan Chapin. He is awaiting his preliminary hearing on June 26.

Goncalves family lawyer Shanon Gray filed a motion earlier this month arguing that he should be allowed to speak for the Gonsalves family.

“If the lawyer they hired to represent their interests were prohibited from acting as their representative (guide) to the media and other parties when conveying the thoughts and opinions of the families of the victims, this would place an undue burden on the families of the victims,” he wrote in his motion to appeal the gag order.

Gray also claimed that he was exempt from liability because he did not take part in the investigation, prosecution, or defense of the case.

On Tuesday, Latah County Attorney Bill Thompson filed an affidavit saying members of the Goncalves family are considered potential witnesses in the case.

Kochberger’s lawyers, Ann Taylor and Jay Weston Logsdon, objected to Gray’s motion on Wednesday and wrote that Gray has special access to information through his clients and the dissemination of this information would jeopardize the jury’s impartiality.

They also noted that while the Gonsalves family can express their own thoughts and opinions, Gray is “bound by rules of professional conduct” that are not exempt under the First Amendment.

The story goes on

This week, a coalition of media organizations that includes the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and the Lewiston Tribune launched a petition to lift Lata County’s non-disclosure order on the grounds that it violates the First Amendment.

The coalition is represented by Wendy Olson and Corey Carone of the Boise law firm Stoel Rives LLP. Olson is a former U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho.

The petition alleges that the gag order mistakenly suggests that any speech in the case is detrimental to Kochberger.

Kuipers can be contacted at [email protected].

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