Breaking News: American media companies file a 1st Amendment petition seeking to open to public scrutiny the criminal trial of Jena 6 defendent

Source: Howard Witt |Tribune senior correspondent

HOUSTON - A coalition of major American media companies filed a 1st Amendment petition Monday seeking to open to public scrutiny the criminal trial of Mychal Bell, one of the teenage defendants in the controversial Jena 6 case in Louisiana.

The legal motion challenges the decisions by presiding LaSalle Parish District Judge J.P. Mauffray to close the proceedings in Bell's juvenile case and order all the parties involved not to speak about it. Mauffray's orders run counter to Louisiana juvenile laws, precedents set by the Louisiana Supreme Court and provisions of both the Louisiana and U.S. Constitutions, the petition asserts.

The Chicago Tribune is the lead plaintiff in the petition, which has been joined by the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times Co., the Associated Press, the Hearst Corp., the Belo Corp.,
the Gannett Corp., CNN and ABC News.

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