PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A Rhode Island newspaper is challenging a judge’s order barring reporters and members of the public from contacting jurors in a high-profile murder trial.
The Providence Journal alleges in a court complaint that Superior Court Judge Netti Vogel violated the First Amendment rights of the newspaper and the public when she gave the order last month after a jury convicted Jorge DePina of second-degree murder in the killing of his 10-year-old daughter.
The newspaper says in its complaint that when its reporter who covered the trial requested a list of the jury members, a document both the Constitution and common law practices have determined is public, she was denied.
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Vogel is being represented in the matter by private lawyer who did not return a telephone call Monday.
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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com
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