First Amendment
Fed’l Judge to Hear Request to Ban Media Photos of Handcuffed N.Y. Lawmaker
Posted May 21, 2009, 12:25 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Saying that First Amendment protections are not absolute, a federal judge in New York has scheduled a hearing to consider whether the media's repeated publication of photographs of an apparently handcuffed New York lawmaker violate his right to a fair trial.
Rejecting arguments by a lawyer for Newsday and News12 that any court order banning publication of such images would be unconstitutional, U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt scheduled the hearing. He called the news organizations' repeated publication of photos of Nassau Legislator Roger Corbin with his hands behind his back when they could have used other photos "especially troubling to me," reports Newsday.
However, Spatt rejected requests by Corbin's lawyer, Thomas Liotti, both to ban Newsday and News12 from publishing such photos prior to the hearing and to order authorities to stop parading Corbin past news cameras in so-called perp walks.
Corbin is accused in a tax evasion case of having allegedly failed to report as income payments of over $225,000 he received from a developer and lying to authorities about the payments.
Hat tip: Crime Report.
Earlier coverage:
Newsday: "Corbin's lawyer calls for order to bar perp walk images"
Long Island Business News: "Legis. Corbin speaks out against charges"
Long Island Press: "Nassau Lawmaker Roger Corbin Charged With Tax Evasion, Lying to Feds"
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