U.S. District Judge James Zagel has issued a gag order over the lawyers in the Family Secrets case.

The order, which is unusual at the federal courthouse in Chicago, comes after the attorney for Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph "The Shark" Lopez, got into hot water for verbally bashing a few witnesses on a blog on the case.
The judge's order raises some interesting points.
The order allows the attorneys to comment on scheduling and other factual matters.
They cannot offer their opinion on the proceedings, to help ensure a fair trial.

But don't attorneys have First Amendment rights, just like everyone else?

Haven't the jurors been told, repeatedly, not to read, watch or listen to any media about the case?

And if they do happen to accidentally see something, aren't they sharp enough to know that the attorney making the comment is an advocate for his or her client?

But also, consider the flipside.

The government has spent millions of dollars to prosecute this case.

The men on trial deserve a fair trial, and the allegations involve seriously evil stuff.

The trial is already getting a ton of coverage, and the judge doesn't want to sequester the jury, since those folks are already sacrificing a lot by being on the trial.

copy right Steven Warmbir

And as the judge notes in his ruling, closing arguments should be reserved for . . . closing arguments.

Two interesting sides