The Controversy Surrounding Gag Orders in High-Profile Cases

A coalition of media organizations and the father of a murder victim are set to challenge a gag order in the criminal case against Bryan Kohberger, the criminology graduate student at Washington State University accused of fatally stabbing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home. Due to the wide-ranging gag order, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and attorneys for victims’ families and witnesses are prohibited from saying anything publicly, aside from what is already in the public record. Gag orders are a common occurrence in high-profile cases, such as the man accused of carrying out January’s mass shooting in Half Moon Bay, California, or the involuntary manslaughter trial of the parents of Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley.