Source:
Mercury News/Associated PressNewspaper ordered to hand over gang-fight photos
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 07/31/2007 01:13:23 PM PDT
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—A newspaper was ordered by a judge to turn over 144 unpublished crime-scene photographs to the lawyer for a teenager charged with murder in a gang fight.
The Santa Barbara Daily Sound was given until Friday to provide the images to the county public defender's office, which is representing defendant Ricardo Juarez.
The newspaper could be held in contempt of court if it misses the deadline, Superior Court Judge Brian Hill said Monday.
Michael Cooney, an attorney representing the paper, said the publication had not decided whether to turn over the photographs or face a contempt hearing next Monday.
Cooney said the ruling could have a chilling effect on the media if journalists thought their material might wind up in court.
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