Crucial details of certain trials, legal proceedings, court proceedings, etc., are not always revealed to the general public. According to the U.S. Constitution and under amendment one, Americans have a right to exercise his or her Freedom of Speech. However, there are certain limitations. Revealing information that is confidential or classified are some of those limitations that can cause a judge to introduce a gag order.
Brielle Hamilton demonstrates the simplicity of a gag order; don’t tell. (Photo by: Robin Hamilton/Full Sail University).
The intentions of a journalist are to capture a story that interests the people then tell them some details about what they will want to know. For instance, in the case of State v. Andrea Sneiderman, she was blamed in 2012 for being a key player in the fatal shooting death of her husband outside of a daycare center in Dunwoody, Ga, and the public desperately wanted answers. The story was headline news. Due to a judge imposed gag order placed on the state’s attorneys— journalists were not privy to the information surrounding it. The gag order was imposed to forbid the attorneys from making comments about ongoing developments.
Scott Stucky, News Operations Manager at Fox 5 Atlanta, stated that, “Gag orders are essentially ordered by a judge. If the plaintiff or defendant is requesting the order, they would still have to go through the judge.” Stucky added, “When that happens it forces journalists to be creative and it also forces them to find other ways to cover the story.” Only certain cases will capture the attention of the masses. “Talking to some experts about what they believe, experienced, or know about what happened in court, are some of those ways to be creative,” Stucky said.
Dekalb County Courthouse Atlanta (Photo by: Robin Hamilton/Full Sail University).
According to the spring 2001 edition of, ”The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press,” “Journalists could challenge the gag orders. Courts generally accept that media organizations or journalists have ‘standing’— a sufficient interest in the matter to be allowed to make arguments to the court— to challenge a gag order. However, not all arguments to support standing are successful.”