Constitutional Law

Calif. judge bars L.A. Times from publishing photos

By By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES ? A judge took the unusual and possibly unconstitutional step of barring a Los Angeles Times photographer from publishing images she allowed him to shoot at a hearing for a man charged with murdering a Hollywood family.

Lawyers for the newspaper planned to ask the judge to reconsider the order, which a press group argues amounts to a prior restraint that violates the First Amendment right to a free press.

Superior Court Judge Hilleri G. Merritt had granted a written request from photographer Al Seib before yesterday's hearing. But after a defense lawyer objected during the hearing, she ordered him to stop taking pictures and not to use any he already had shot.

There was no legal reason for Merritt to ban publication absent a demonstration of ?direct, immediate, physical harm that is not speculative,? said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

?The judge has the ability at any time to order the photographer out of the courtroom,? Dalglish told the newspaper. "What the judge does not have the ability to do, based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent, is bar the photographer from publishing the information he lawfully collected. The U.S. Supreme Court has never, ever, not once, upheld a prior restraint on publication."

The order came during a hearing for Alberd Tersargyan, 60, who pleaded not guilty earlier this year to charges of killing a Hollywood woman. Authorities say he was infatuated with her, but she rebuffed his advances.

He was scheduled for arraignment yesterday on additional charges of killing the woman's husband and 8-year-old daughter in 2008 as well as a slaying of a prostitute earlier this year. However, that arraignment was postponed to Aug. 13.

The Times photographer was taking photos when Deputy Public Defender Patricia Mulligan reminded Merritt that another judge had previously barred photography and video.

Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Eric Harmon didn't object to the photographs.

Merritt criticized the lawyers for failing to raise the issue earlier.

"The record clearly reflects concerns expressed by Judge Merritt in the balance between a fair trial and free press issues," said Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini.

First Amendment Center Online staff contributed to this report.

Full post as published by First Amendment Center on August 04, 2010 (boomark / email).