GOSHEN, Ind. (AP) — A northern Indiana prosecutor has asked a judge to prevent an opposing attorney from making comments to media about a man who alleges he was coerced into a false murder confession.
The South Bend Tribune reports that Elkhart County prosecutor Vicki Becker told the judge Monday that attorney Elliot Slosar improperly spoke to the media about 43-year-old Andrew Royer’s case. Royer, who is mentally disabled, was convicted in 2005 for the slaying of a 94-year-old woman.
Royer filed an appeal June 13 alleging he was wrongfully convicted because of shoddy police work. Slosar spoke to media the same day discussing the county’s “epidemic” of wrongful convictions.
Becker has asked the judge to control publicity, but Slosar says the request stifles his right to speak for his client.
The judge is expected to decide on the request in coming weeks.
Speaking for your client takes place in the courtroom, not on a TV screen. The merits of your ‘case’ will be tried in an actual courtroom, not the court of public opinion.
This guy is doing nothing but grandstanding, looking to become the next TV lawyer.
Comments about a supposed epidemic of wrongful convictions reflect an opinion about the performance of public officials. They are therefore core political speech and may not be suppressed.
Ms. Becker would know this if she hadn’t been Curtis Hill’s alter-ego for so long.