The judge in the Aaron Hernandez murder case is refusing to modify a gag order prosecutors claim overly restricts them in being able to effectively discuss the much publicized proceedings.
According to Boston.com, in a three-page ruling Bristol Superior Court Judge E.Susan Garsh maintained her order "relies on existing ethical rules for lawyers and prosecutors and does unduly burden Bristol District Attorney C.Samuel Sutter and his prosecution team."
Garsh added "The Commonwealth has not made a credible showing that any of the required steps are beyond its power to implement or unduly burdensome."
The website adds Sutter is now asking the Supreme Judicial Court to throw out Garsh's ruling, whom prosecutors have unsuccessfully tried to have removed from all five Superior Court cases now involving Hernandez on the grounds she has a past hostile relationship with Sutter.
"The order was imposed in the absence of any suggestion whatsoever that the chief evil against which it is aimed was likely to occur; namely, that any member of the prosecution or defense teams would make any extrajudicial statements that prejudiced the defendant's right to a fair trial,'' Bristol Assistant District Attorney Roger L. Michel Jr. wrote.
Led by lead attorneys Michael Fee and James Sultan, Hernandez's defense team countered that far too many news stories have surfaced in which reporters have attributed their information to people with ties to law enforcement, almost rendering any chance Hernandez has at a fair trial gravely endangered.
The 24-year-old former New England Patriot tight end remains held without bail on first-degree murder charges in the killing of Odin Lloyd. A one-time associate of Hernandez, Lloyd's bullet-riddled body was found less than a mile from his North Attleborough mansion late last June.
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