Newspaper asks court to keep trial info open

HARTINGTON – The Cedar County News has filed a motion in the Jason Jones quadruple murder trial to protect its First Amendment rights.

A motion to intervene was filed with the Cedar County District Court Friday afternoon to protect the newspaper’s access to trial exhibits.

The move comes after a July hearing in which the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office indicated they would be requesting a protective order to bar media from having access to trial exhibits including videos, photographs and other evidence.

At the July hearing, Prosecutor Corey O’Brien said he would be making the request through Jason Jones’ murder trial and possibly even through the prosecution of his wife, Carrie Jones, who is charged in connection with the same crimes.

Jason Jones, 44, is accused of murdering four people - Gene Twiford, Janet Twiford, Dana Twiford and Michele Shankles-Ebeling - and setting their homes on fire on Aug. 4, 2002, in Laurel. 

The three-week trial set to begin Monday was moved to Dakota County due to extensive media coverage in Cedar County, among other issues.

Carrie Jones is charged with the murder of Gene Twiford, tampering with evidence and being an accessory in the crime.

During the July hearing, O’Brien said if evidence is disseminated through widespread media coverage, he fears it will be difficult to seat a fair and impartial jury in the subsequent trial of Carrie Jones.

Todd Lancaster of the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy agreed that while media should be allowed to report on whatever they see in court, access to certain exhibits should be limited. Judge Bryan Mesmer said he would be inclined to sign a protective order sealing certain exhibits until both cases are resolved.

The Cedar County News argues in its motion for intervention that a protective order is a prior restraint on speech, citing case law which indicate the media and the general public must be given an opportunity to be heard on the question of their exclusion.

‘’We are very concerned about the precedent a ruling like this could set,’’  said Cedar County News Publisher Rob Dump.

Trials are presumptively open to the public which extends to judicial records, and orders restricting the rights - even temporary orders - are invalid, the motion to intervene states.

“Speculative concerns about the jury pool” should not be considered a “countervailing interest” and is unconstitutional when applied to the Jones’ case, the filing states.

The Cedar County News asks the court to allow press to promptly view and copy, or receive copies, of exhibits during the trial proceedings.

The motion was filed by Daniel Gutman and Sydney Hayes of the University of Nebraska College of Law First Amendment Clinic, and Nathan D. Clark, a Lincoln lawyer.

In other last-minute case filings, O’Brien filed a motion in limine to preclude contents from Jason Jones’ iCloud account from being entered into evidence. The content appears to have been created using the “Notes” application the day before and the morning of the murders.

O’Brien said the defense didn’t indicate they would be attempting to enter that evidence at trial. While it wouldn’t be necessary for evidence to be heard on the digital content discovery and analysis by law enforcement, O’Brien would object to its authenticity, relevance and hearsay.

In the motion, O’Brien asks for the judge to make a ruling on its admissibility prior to trial.

Meismer also made a ruling on the record regarding witness sequestration.

All witnesses in the Jason Jones case are expected to be sequestered except for two.

Investigator Tim Doggett will be able to remain in the courtroom during the the entire proceeding and Gail Curry, daughter of victims Gene and Janet Twiford, will be allowed in the courtroom after her testimony. She would not be able to be recalled by either the defense or prosecution.

Meismer also disallowed anyone from wearing or bringing any memorial items such as buttons, signs, pins or photographs while in the courtroom during trial.

“Any individual who causes a distortion during the court proceedings will be escorted from the courtroom by the court security officers and will not be allowed to return to the courtroom,” Meismer wrote in his pre-trial order.

In the order, media representatives were also barred from taking photos or video inside the jury selection site.