For now, the attorneys involved in the Aaron Hernandez murder trial will remain under a strict gag order. State Supreme Judicial Court Justice Fernande R.V. Duffly upheld the decision by a Bristol judge in February. Here are the details from the Boston Globe:
Sitting as a single justice, essentially a gatekeeper for the SJC, Duffly wrote Monday that Sutter had neither shown that his office had been harmed by the order, nor laid out a convincing case that the gag order would hurt the way the prosecution operates in the future.
“The Commonwealth has failed to establish that the extraordinary relief available [to the SJC] is appropriate,’’ Duffly wrote, alluding to special powers the SJC has to change a judge’s order before a criminal or civil trial begins.
“The Commonwealth has shown nothing but speculative future harm should it or the defendant make, or determine there is a need to make, an extrajudicial statement concerning some as yet to be determined event,’’ Duffly wrote.
Prosecutors argue that this order hurts their ability to present their case, but haven’t been able to clearly say why exactly. You would think that if all parties involved plan on operating above board, this shouldn’t be a problem.