Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and City Councilman Chris Nettles are scheduled for a Contempt of Court hearing for possible violations of a gag order in the trial of former police officer Aaron Dean.
The two elected officials face possible gag order violations for issuing or making statements after a jury found Dean guilty of Manslaughter in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson. The statements were made before Dean was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Parker and Nettles were sworn in as possible witnesses during pretrial hearings surrounding the defense team’s motion for a change of venue.Sign up for NBC DFW newslettersDallas attorney Paul Watler, who is also the former president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said the two officials have levels of protection under the First Amendment.
“I do question whether or not a contempt finding would be sustainable under the First Amendment,” Watler said. “I don’t question the judge’s good faith here in proceeding. Judges issue orders and they expect them to be abided by, but you also have to examine the scope of the authority a judge has in a particular circumstance.”
“They were not witnesses at the trial and that is important because there is a very narrow exception that allows a court to restrict speech of trial participants – people who are actually participating in the trial. Typically, that only extends to attorneys and witnesses,” Watler explained.
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