Opinion ID: 1060523
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Issuance of Gag Order

Text: Carruthers next argues that the trial court committed reversible error by issuing a gag order preventing him from speaking to the media. [44] The trial court's order, issued about a month before the trial began, states: The Constitutions of the United States and the State of Tennessee guarantee defendants in all criminal cases due process of law and the right to a fair and impartial jury. It is the duty of the trial court to see that every defendant is afforded all his constitutional rights. In order to safeguard those rights, this Court is of the opinion that the following rule is necessary to constitutionally guarantee an orderly and fair trial by an impartial jury. Therefore, this Court orders the following: All lawyers participating in this case, including any defendants proceeding pro se, the assistants, staff, investigators, and employees of investigators are forbidden to take part in interviews for publicity and from making extra-judicial statements about this case from this date until such time as a verdict is returned in this case in open court. Because of the gravity of this case, because of the long history of concerns for the personal safety of attorneys, litigants and witnesses in this case, because of the potential dangerbelieved by this Court to be very real and very presentof undermining the integrity of the judicial system by trying the case in the media and of sullying the jury pool, this Court feels compelled to adopt this extraordinary pretrial measure. Carruthers challenges this order as violating his right to a fair trial, guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution. Carruthers is correct to rely upon the Sixth Amendment. We note, however, that the United States Supreme Court has stated that a right to fair trial claim also implicates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clauses. See, e.g., Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 684-85, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2063, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) (The Constitution guarantees a fair trial through the Due Process Clauses, but it defines the basic elements of a fair trial largely through the several provisions of the Sixth Amendment.). Nonetheless, numerous courts have referred simply to the Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial in this context, and we will do the same. See, e.g., In re Dow Jones & Co., Inc., 842 F.2d 603, 609 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 946, 109 S.Ct. 377, 102 L.Ed.2d 365 (1988); United States v. Ford, 830 F.2d 596, 600 (6th Cir.1987). Carruthers also raises First Amendment concerns, which is understandable given that gag orders exhibit the characteristics of prior restraints. See United States v. Brown, 218 F.3d 415, 424 (5th Cir.2000). But see Dow Jones, 842 F.2d at 608 (noting a substantial difference between a restraint on the press and a restraint on trial participants). Yet the crux of Carruthers' argument on appeal is that his defense was inhibited because he could not respond to the media's coverage of the trial; he could do nothing to alter the jurors' preconceptions about the case gained from their exposure to news reports. Carruthers also argues that his inability to speak to the press may have prevented potential witnesses from coming forward to his defense. Properly stated, then, his argument asserts that the gag order interfered with his right to a fair trial. To the extent Carruthers' brief raises a First Amendment claim, however, we find it moot. By its own terms, the trial court's order ceased to exist upon the return of the verdict, which occurred several years ago. Of course, since a gag order is by definition a restriction on speech, our review of Carruthers' Sixth Amendment claim demands consideration of First Amendment principles. As is clear from the case law, discussed below, the proper standard governing the validity of gag orders explicitly incorporates these principles, as do we in our analysis. The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Carruthers' arguments and upheld the gag order in its entirety. As noted in its opinion, the following circumstances were considered by the trial court as reasons for issuing the gag order: numerous threats to attorneys; the death of one of the co-defendants; the highly-charged emotional climate of the trial (e.g., the courtroom was guarded by S.W.A.T. team members); the gunning down of a deputy jailer in his driveway, which the trial judge thought was related to the case; the fleeing of one witness after reading about the case in the newspaper; and the statements of two witnesses who had already testified that defendant Montgomery threatened to kill them if they talked about the case. Also, as the Court of Criminal Appeals noted, Alfredo Shaw testified that Carruthers threatened him and made arrangements to have a reporter interview him about recanting his story. Thus, the court held that the trial judge was properly concerned about the media's influence on the potential jury pool and the safety of all involved in the trial. The court also held that the public was certainly aware of the trial from the media's coverage and that Carruthers' statements to the press would not likely have led to unknown witnesses coming forward. We agree with the Court of Criminal Appeals' judgment that under these circumstances a gag order was proper. We hold, however, that under the constitutional standards discussed below, the scope of that order was too broad. Nevertheless, given the circumstances of this case, the error is harmless. Numerous courts have recognized that the correct standard by which to evaluate the constitutionality of gag orders depends upon who is being restrained: the press or trial participants. See, e.g., Brown, 218 F.3d at 425; Dow Jones, 842 F.2d at 608. If the gag order is directed to the press, the constitutional standard is very stringent. See Montgomery, 929 S.W.2d at 414 (discussing Nebraska Press Ass'n v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 96 S.Ct. 2791, 49 L.Ed.2d 683 (1976)). Carruthers' appeal before this Court, however, concerns the trial court's gag order directed to him, a defendant, representing himself at trial. As the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has recently determined, the federal circuit courts are split as to the correct constitutional standard governing gag orders on trial participants. See Brown, 218 F.3d at 425-28. For example, the Sixth Circuit has held that gag orders on trial participants must meet the exacting clear and present danger test for free speech cases enunciated in Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697, 51 S.Ct. 625, 75 L.Ed. 1357 (1931). See Ford, 830 F.2d at 598 (We see no legitimate reasons for a lower standard for individuals [as compared to the press].). Accord Chicago Council of Lawyers v. Bauer, 522 F.2d 242, 249 (7th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 427 U.S. 912, 96 S.Ct. 3201, 49 L.Ed.2d 1204 (1976) (applying a serious and imminent threat test); Levine v. United States District Court, 764 F.2d 590, 595-96 (9th Cir.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1158, 106 S.Ct. 2276, 90 L.Ed.2d 719 (1986) (same). In contrast, the Second, Fourth, and Tenth Circuits analyze the validity of gag orders on trial participants under the less stringent standard of whether the participant's comments present a reasonable likelihood of prejudicing a fair trial. See Dow Jones, 842 F.2d at 610; In re Russell, 726 F.2d 1007, 1010 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 837, 105 S.Ct. 134, 83 L.Ed.2d 74 (1984); United States v. Tijerina, 412 F.2d 661, 666-67 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 990, 90 S.Ct. 478, 24 L.Ed.2d 452 (1969). See also News-Journal Corp. v. Foxman, 939 F.2d 1499, 1512-15 (11th Cir.1991) (discussing the case law authority for the less stringent standard). Without deciding whether to adopt the reasonable likelihood standard, the Fifth Circuit determined that the clear and present danger test was not required, and analyzed the case before it under a substantial likelihood test. See Brown, 218 F.3d at 427-28. Although this Court has upheld restraints on trial participants, see State v. Hartman, 703 S.W.2d 106 (Tenn.1985) (order restraining counsel from talking with the public or media about the facts of the case), we have never discussed the underlying constitutional issues. We therefore decide this issue based on our own interpretation of United States Supreme Court precedent and the Tennessee Constitution with guidance from the federal circuit courts. [45] We note that the Court of Criminal Appeals' opinion emphasizes that [t]he twist in this case, however, is that Carruthers was representing himself during trial. Although this fact is relevant in applying the constitutional standard to determine whether Carruthers' right to a fair trial was breached, our review of the case law indicates that the constitutional standard is the same regardless of which trial participant is restrained. The Brown court's decision to follow a substantial likelihood test rather than the clear and present danger test rests on its interpretation of Gentile v. State Bar of Nevada, 501 U.S. 1030, 111 S.Ct. 2720, 115 L.Ed.2d 888 (1991). The Brown court determined that Gentile rejected the clear and present danger test for trial participants and that Gentile is the Supreme Court's latest discussion of the issue. See Brown, 218 F.3d at 426-28 (noting that the cases endorsing the more stringent test predated Gentile ). We agree with the Brown court's holding. Gentile involved an attorney who held a press conference the day after his client was indicted on criminal charges. See Gentile, 501 U.S. at 1063-65, 111 S.Ct. at 2738-40 (discussing the facts). The attorney proclaimed his client's innocence, strongly suggested that a police detective was in fact the perpetrator, and stated that the alleged victims were not credible. Although the trial court succeeded in empaneling a jury that had not been affected by the media coverage and [the client] was acquitted on all charges, the [Nevada] state bar disciplined [the attorney] for his statements. Id. at 1064, 111 S.Ct. at 2739. The Nevada Supreme Court upheld the state bar's disciplinary action, finding that the attorney knew or reasonably should have known that his comments had a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing the adjudication of his client's case. Id. at 1065, 111 S.Ct. at 2739. Although the Supreme Court reversed this judgment because it found the Nevada Supreme Court's construction of the disciplinary rule void for vagueness, id. at 1048-51, 111 S.Ct. at 2731-32, a majority of the Court held that the substantial likelihood of prejudice test struck the proper constitutional balance between an attorney's First Amendment rights and the state's interest in fair trials. Id. at 1065-76, 111 S.Ct. at 2740-45. [46] In so doing, the Court held that the stringent standard governing restraints on the press articulated in Nebraska Press Ass'n v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539, 96 S.Ct. 2791, 49 L.Ed.2d 683 (1976) should not apply to restraints on lawyers whose clients are parties to the proceeding. Id. at 1074, 111 S.Ct. at 2744. See also News-Journal Corp., 939 F.2d at 1512-13 (noting that the Supreme Court has suggested restricting trial participants as an alternative to a prior restraint on the media). The Court quoted with approval from Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 16 L.Ed.2d 600 (1966) in which the defendant's conviction was overturned because of prejudicial publicity that prevented him from receiving a fair trial: The courts must take such steps by rule and regulation that will protect their processes from prejudicial outside interferences. Neither prosecutors, counsel for defense, the accused, witnesses, court staff nor enforcement officers coming under the jurisdiction of the court should be permitted to frustrate its function. Collaboration between counsel and the press as to information affecting the fairness of a criminal trial is not only subject to regulation, but is highly censurable and worthy of disciplinary measures. 384 U.S. at 363, 86 S.Ct. at 1522. Id. at 1072, 111 S.Ct. at 2743. As the Brown court held, however, see Brown, 218 F.3d at 426, the Court in Gentile did not conclude that the substantial likelihood of prejudice test was required; it held only that this test complies with the First Amendment. See Gentile, 501 U.S. at 1075, 111 S.Ct. at 2745 (We agree with the majority of the States that [this standard] constitutes a constitutionally permissible balance between the First Amendment rights of attorneys in pending cases and the State's interest in fair trials.). Moreover, Gentile involved a restraint on an attorney's speech; in this case, Carruthers was a party as well as his own attorney. It is necessary, therefore, to decide whether the Gentile rationale applies to parties. Although unnecessary to its holding, we find significant evidence in the Gentile opinion that the clear and present danger test is not required for gag orders restraining parties or other trial participants. The Court emphasized the distinction between participants in the litigation and strangers to it as recognized by an earlier case, Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart, 467 U.S. 20, 104 S.Ct. 2199, 81 L.Ed.2d 17 (1984). Id. at 1072-73, 111 S.Ct. at 2743-44. As characterized by the Gentile Court, the Court in Seattle Times unanimously held that a newspaper, which was itself a defendant in a libel action, could be restrained from publishing material about the plaintiffs and their supporters to which it had gained access through court-ordered discovery. Id. at 1073, 111 S.Ct. at 2744. The Gentile Court then quoted from Seattle Times as follows: [a]lthough litigants do not `surrender their First Amendment rights at the courthouse door,' those rights may be subordinated to other interests that arise in this setting (citation omitted); and further, on several occasions [we have] approved restriction on the communications of trial participants where necessary to ensure a fair trial for a criminal defendant. Id. The Court also stated that [f]ew, if any interests under the Constitution are more fundamental than the right to a fair trial by `impartial' jurors, and an outcome affected by extrajudicial statements would violate that fundamental right. Id. at 1075, 111 S.Ct. at 2745 (citing Sheppard, 384 U.S. at 350-51, 86 S.Ct. at 1515-16). We conclude that the concerns raised in Gentile and Sheppard are applicable regardless of whether a party or his or her attorney is being restrained. A prejudicial statement made to the press by an attorney is not somehow less prejudicial if made by a party. In short, what matters is what is being said and not who is saying it. See Brown, 218 F.3d at 428 (As the district court pointed out, trial participants, like attorneys, are `privy to a wealth of information that, if disclosed to the public, could readily jeopardize the fair trial rights of all parties.'). If anything, as one court has reasoned, extrajudicial comments made by trial participants have the potential to be more harmful than comments made by attorneys: Gentile involved a state supreme court rule governing the conduct of members of the bar of that state, while we examine a state trial court's restrictive order entered in a particular case and directed to all trial participants. Because of their legal training, attorneys are knowledgeable regarding which extrajudicial communications are likely to be prejudicial. The other trial participants encompassed by the restrictive order in this case did not have such legal discernment and expertise. Given the public attention generated by this case, defendants, witnesses and law enforcement personnel were eager to talk with the press concerning their particular views. While attorneys can be governed by state supreme court or bar rules, other trial participants do not have these guidelines. News-Journal Corp., 939 F.2d at 1515 n. 18. Thus, we conclude that for purposes of the constitutional right to a fair trial, Gentile's rationale applies to all trial participants, meaning that the more stringent clear and present danger test is not required. Having decided that the clear and present danger test is not constitutionally mandated, we must now decide which test to adopt: the substantial likelihood of prejudice test or, as some courts have employed, the reasonable likelihood test. As noted, Gentile held only that the substantial likelihood test was constitutional, not that it was required. See Brown, 218 F.3d at 426-28; News-Journal Corp., 939 F.2d at 1515 n. 18. Nonetheless, we conclude under both the state and federal constitutions that the substantial likelihood test strikes a constitutionally permissible balance between the free speech rights of trial participants, the Sixth Amendment right of defendants to a fair trial, and the State's interest in a fair trial. Cf. Gentile, 501 U.S. at 1070, 111 S.Ct. at 2742. Accordingly, we hold that a trial court may constitutionally restrict extrajudicial comments by trial participants, including lawyers, parties, and witnesses, when the trial court determines that those comments pose a substantial likelihood of prejudicing a fair trial. Under this constitutional standard, we hold that the trial court was justified in imposing a gag order on Carruthers. At trial, this case garnered a significant amount of media coverage, raising the concerns expressed in Sheppard . As Carruthers himself notes in his brief: This trial was charged with emotion from start to finish. There were allegations of gang affiliations and testimony of large scale narcotics dealings. The courtroom was guarded by S.W.A.T. team members and by Sheriff's deputies who were authorized to search those entering the courtroom. Representatives of news organizations were present daily to record the proceedings. In addition to its concerns about media coverage, the trial court was presented with the problem of witness intimidation. The trial judge found that witnesses who had already testified stated that defendant Montgomery threatened to kill them if they talked. Moreover, Alfredo Shaw testified that Carruthers had threatened him and made arrangements to have a reporter interview him about recanting his story. Under these unusual circumstances, the trial court was justified in employing heightened measures to ensure that a proper jury could be found and to prevent Carruthers from manipulating the media so as to intimidate witnesses. The trial judge could not ignore these issues. Indeed, he had a constitutional duty under the state and federal constitutions to ensure a fair trial. Before a gag order can be entered, however, the case law suggests that a trial court should consider reasonable alternative measures that would ensure a fair trial without restricting speech. In the context of restraints on the press, the United States Supreme Court has specifically held that a trial court should consider such measures. See Nebraska Press, 427 U.S. at 563-64, 96 S.Ct. at 2804-05. These measures include: a change of trial venue; postponement of the trial to allow public attention to subside; searching questions of prospective jurors; and emphatic instructions to the jurors to decide the case on the evidence. Id. (discussing Sheppard, 384 U.S. at 357-62, 86 S.Ct. at 1519-22). Although it is not clear whether the need to consider alternatives is also necessary in the context of restraints on trial participants, some federal circuit courts have assumed so, see, e.g., Brown, 218 F.3d at 430-31; Dow Jones, 842 F.2d at 611-12, and the trial judge considered several of the alternatives. The trial court found that neither a change of venue nor a continuance was practical because the case was several years old and one attempt to try the case had already been made. The court appropriately gave careful attention to voir dire and jury instructions, but determined that these alternatives alone were insufficient. Given the extraordinary nature of this case, we hold that the trial court was entitled to make this judgment. We also note that in addition to and apart from the concerns about pretrial publicity interfering with the task of finding an unbiased jury, the trial court was concerned about witness intimidation and Carruthers' potential manipulation of the press. None of the alternatives mentioned in Nebraska Press and Sheppard would likely have alleviated these concerns. The trial court reasonably concluded that only a gag order would be effective. Finally, we note that the alternatives mentioned above are not free of cost to the judicial system. As the Gentile Court wrote: Even if a fair trial can ultimately be ensured through voir dire, change of venue, or some other device, these measures entail serious costs to the system. Extensive voir dire may not be able to filter out all of the effects of pretrial publicity, and with increasingly widespread media coverage of criminal trials, a change of venue may not suffice to undo the effects of statements such as those made by the petitioner. Gentile, 501 U.S. at 1075, 111 S.Ct. at 2745. Having decided that the trial court did not err in issuing the gag order, the final issue to consider is the scope of the order. As discussed above, Carruthers' argument on appeal is properly construed as a right to fair trial claim rather than a First Amendment claim. Nevertheless, a gag order by definition restricts speech. In determining whether a gag order is appropriate, therefore, a court must be mindful that [g]overnment may not regulate expression in such a manner that a substantial portion of the burden on speech does not serve to advance its goals. Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 799, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 2758, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989); see also Procunier v. Martinez, 416 U.S. 396, 413, 94 S.Ct. 1800, 1811, 40 L.Ed.2d 224 (1974) (the limitation on speech must be no greater than is necessary or essential to the protection of the particular governmental interest involved) ( quoted in Brown, 218 F.3d at 429). On its face, the trial court's order has no exceptions or limitations: it prohibits the defendants and their attorneys from making any comments to the press about the case. This gag order is considerably broader than any upheld in the cases discussed above. Gentile , though not a gag order case, involved a limitation on attorney speech which prohibited only statements substantially likely to prejudice the adjudication of the case. See Gentile, 501 U.S. at 1064, 111 S.Ct. at 2739. Brown involved an order which left available to the parties various avenues of expression, including assertions of innocence, general statements about the nature of an allegation or defense, and statements of matters of public record. Brown, 218 F.3d at 429-30. The order in Dow Jones was similar. See Dow Jones, 842 F.2d at 606. Given the history of this trial, we certainly understand why the trial court crafted such a broad order. Indeed, in certain cases, as where a defendant takes advantage of a limited gag order or fails to comply with it, an order of such breadth may be justified. Nonetheless, we hold that initial gag orders on trial participants should ordinarily contain the exceptions found in the Brown order and allow trial participants to make general statements asserting innocence, commenting on the nature of an allegation or defense, and discussing matters of public record. We find the trial court's failure to include these exceptions in the gag order was harmless error. We fail to see how limited statements made by Carruthers to the media about his innocence, allegations or defenses, or matters in the public record would have altered the result of the trial. We do not think that allowing Carruthers to make such statements would have furthered the goal of finding an impartial jury, nor do we think it probable that any new witnesses would have come forward. We also point out that these crimes occurred in 1994, and the gag order was issued only one month before trial in 1996. In the two years preceding issuance of the gag order, Carruthers had access to the media. The record shows both that he availed himself of that access and that the media responded by actively covering the trial and events leading up to the trial. Under these circumstances, the error below was harmless.