PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — In a ruling issued Tuesday morning, the local appellant court issued a finding in favor of the Guardian and other media outlets, striking down archaic rules set by the judge overseeing Ohio’s worst homicide trial.
In a unanimous vote announced before 11 a.m., the justices of the Fourth District Court of Appeals ordered Judge Randy Deering of Pike County Court of Common Pleas to allow news media and the public to film exhibits in the trial of George Wagner IV.
In July, Deering issued a media order in the Wagner case that detailed what the media could and could not do during the proceedings of the worst homicide in the state’s history; the Rhoden massacre where eight members of one family was slain in their sleep by another family, the Wagners; prosecutors claim a custody battle is at the center of the murders.
Among the rules given by Deering, the media was not allowed to film any exhibits he or prosecutors deemed “too sensitive.” Several media outlets disagreed with the order and filed suit against Deering last month.
Wager IV is the first to go on trial after six years of investigations. His mother, Angela and brother, Jake have copped plea deals to testify against him, claiming Wagner was an accomplice in the killings. The two other Wagners are expected to testify later this month.
In their ruling on Tuesday, Judges Mike Hess, Jason Smith, and Kristy Wilkin said, “The right of the general public (and, by extension, the press) to attend criminal proceedings is a fundamental right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This right of access promotes both the fair administration of justice and the public’s confidence in the judicial system.’ The Ohio Supreme Court has observed ‘without the freedom to attend such trials, which people have exercised for centuries, important aspects of freedom of speech and ‘of the press could be eviscerated.’ Freedom of the press includes the right to ‘gather, write and publish the news’ including events occurring in open court.”
The justices went on to say, “….Judge Deering is prohibited from imposing restrictions on the recording of exhibits during open courtroom proceedings without affording all parties an opportunity to be heard, making the appropriate findings, and entering the decision on the record. Should Judge Deering or the prosecutors wish to restrict the media’s recording access in the future, the trial court must hold a hearing and make findings on the record in accordance with the factors enumerated above. The Supplemental Media Order and Paragraph 16 of the initial Media Order are hereby stricken and deemed unenforceable.”
Wagner’s trial is expected to go into November. He faces the potential of the death penalty.
Joining the Guardian was the Cincinnati Enquirer, CourtTV, WLWT channel 5, WKRC channel 12, WXIX channel 19, and WCPO channel 9 of Cincinnati.
I have faithfully ⌚ the Wagner trial . and wow..I wonder how he feels about his whole world being paraded in from the entire planet ..and he is correct..he did not have to shoot those people.but he knew about it..so. Too bad George.you are going 👎 en with the other three .!!?