Judge issues gag order at trial

By Vijeta Kadarmandalgi



A current issue going on in Victorville, Calif. According to an article in the Victorville Daily Press, on Monday a judge asked a reporter not to print the name of a witness in an on-going case.


During a preliminary hearing for Richard J. Swank - a former substitute teacher charged with sexually abusing his son repeatedly - the judge called a Daily Press reporter, the defense attorney, and the prosecuting attorney to the bench and told the reporter, Patrick Thatcher, not to print the last name of Swank's son. According to the article, the son testified in open court and the reporter acquired his name through legal means - in this case, just being present at the trial.


According to the article, though the son's name was not said in open court, he wore a badge with his full name on it. According to the California First Amendment Coalition, if the judge wanted to keep the son's name out of the paper the judge should have had the son remove the name tag but, any means to prevent the reporting of information obtained legally is a violation of the First Amendment.



- But, what is the line between a person's right to privacy and freedom of press?


- The truth is that the abuse happened when the son was a child, but he is now an adult. Legally newspapers are fully in their rights to report his name. Was the judge within his rights to ask the reporter to withhold the son's name?