US judge decides against prohibiting release of Tucson shooting autopsy reports
March 4th, 2011 - 4:56 pm ICT by ANITucson, Mar 4(ANI): An effort to block the release of autopsy results on the six people killed in the January 8 shooting in Tucson, Arizona, has been denied by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Larry Alan Burns denied requests by prosecutors and defense attorneys to issue gag orders sealing the autopsy reports and banning public statements by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to the New York Daily News, five of the six families agreed with the prosecution asking the autopsy reports remain sealed.
The prosecutors argue that releasing the records could taint the jury pool and hurt the chances of a fair trial.
Judge Burns calls the motion “premature” and the facts “under developed”.
His ruling goes on to say that just because media outlets have requested the autopsy reports it doesn’t support the government’s assertion that any statements pose a serious threat of pre-trial publicity.
Burns said that instead, the Medical Examiner’s Office might decide whether to deny requests for the documents made by news outlets.
Pima County Medical Examiner Dr. Bruce Parks has informed the U.S. Attorney’s Office that he plans to release the autopsies on Monday.
US Democratic Representative Gabrielle, and 18 others were shot on January 8 when 22-year-old Jared L. Loughner opened fire at a “Congress on Your Corner” event in Arizona where she was meeting with her constituents.
Loughner has been charged with several offences and could face the death penalty if found guilty. (ANI)
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Tags: autopsies, autopsy results, county medical, defense attorneys, democratic representative, district judge, dr bruce, federal judge, gabrielle, gag orders, jury pool, larry alan burns, media outlets, new york daily news, pima, pima county medical examiner, public statements, taint, trial judge, york daily news