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Why judges use gag orders in high-profile cases like the Idaho student killings

A coalition of media organizations and the family of a murder victim came to an Idaho court on Friday with the same goal in mind: challenging a gag order.

Two separate hearings were held Friday in the criminal case against Bryan Kohberger, the criminology graduate student at Washington State University accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home. A not guilty plea has been entered on his behalf, and the trial is set for October.

The brutality of the killings and the lack of clarity on his connections to the group of friends have made it one of the highest profile cases in US news.

Yet due to a wide-ranging gag order, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and attorneys for victims’ families and witnesses are prohibited from saying anything publicly, aside from what is already in the public record.

Gag orders are a common occurrence in high-profile cases, such as the man accused of carrying out January’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California, or the involuntary manslaughter trial of the parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley.In Idaho on Friday, Latah County District Court Judge John Judge said he’d consider the arguments and issue a ruling on requests to lift the gag order. He did not provide a timeline on when that decision might come.

Source: cnn

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