Word: gaggingly
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...both prosecution and defense attorneys-ordered the press not to print most of what was revealed at a public preliminary hearing. His reason: Simants' right to a trial untainted by prejudicial publicity superseded the freedom of the press. Although that broad ban was trimmed somewhat on appeal, a gag remained in force until the trial began in December (Simants was convicted and sentenced...
...Judicial gag orders were virtually unknown a decade ago. Then in 1966 Dr. Sam Sheppard's conviction for the murder of his wife was reversed by the Supreme Court because of the hostile trial atmosphere created by the press. Although the court did not mention gag rules as a way to control such press excess, judges began slapping them on. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has counted 192 such court orders in the past decade...
Whatever form they take, and there are several, gag orders ban reporters from printing information they have discovered themselves, or that is publicly available-and occasionally even prevent reporting the fact of the gag itself. Explaining the need for the Simants action last week, Harold Mosher, Nebraska's assistant attorney general, argued that "temporary restraints on First Amendment freedoms are permitted in extraordinary circumstances where no other means exist to protect other fundamental interests." The basic right of a defendant to keep inadmissible evidence from a jury during a trial is clearly infringed if the press has presented such...
Constitutional experts, however, point out that gag orders often create as many legal problems as they solve. Among them...
...plot is enervating to recount, it is excruciating to sit through. The script is replete with rough-and-tumble frontier humor, Hollywood style, which means that the characters talk like unemployed gag writers trying to top each other over a delicatessen breakfast. Segal and Hawn, who are usually actors of charm and humor, here look as if they would like to be on the first stage out of town-or maybe even under...