A local judge in Orleans Parish has temporarily suspended the broadcast of a true-crime documentary episode by A&E network, which features a grisly local homicide case. District Judge Robin Pittman is currently considering the plea from the accused murderer’s legal representation to maintain the confidentiality of the episode. She conducted a hearing on Wednesday that included testimonies from heads of the New Orleans Police Department’s homicide unit, revolving around the production of the show titled ‘Homicide Squad New Orleans’. The unaired episode, ‘Predator on the Loose’, was due to be released by the network last week.
The pause on the broadcast was announced on January 15 by Judge Pittman, following an application for a temporary restraining order by Joel Warren’s legal team. Warren, who is under trial for the murder case covered in the episode, is represented by attorneys from the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center. They argue that if the episode, which outlines the homicide and Warren’s subsequent arrest, is aired during the ongoing trial, it could be ‘highly prejudicial’. The argument states that the broadcast could severely compromise Warren’s right to a fair trial.
In a recent development last Tuesday, Judge Pittman issued a directive for A&E’s attorneys to provide her with a copy of the in-progress episode for her review. The defense, however, was not granted access to the copy. The legal team representing A&E complied with the order while continuing to lobby for the restraining order to be lifted.
Arguing on behalf of A&E as well as 44 Blue Productions and PBP LLC, attorney Mary Ellen Roy staunchly opposed holding back the episode. She declared that it translates to a ‘prior restraint’ that is unconstitutional under the First Amendment. Roy pointed out that the episode doesn’t meet the ‘clear and present danger’ guideline, the standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 1976 ruling that still holds influence.
The case Roy mentioned, Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, saw a state court prevent reporting about a defendant’s pre-trial confession in a capital case involving the murder of six family members in a small town. When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned this blockade, Chief Justice Warren Burger penned that ‘prior restraints on speech and publication are the gravest and least acceptable violation of First Amendment rights’.
Adding on to his argument, Burger said that ‘the fight against prior restraint holds a special significance when applied to reports of legal proceedings, regardless of whether the crime being reported was a solitary act or a sequence of criminal behaviors’. This resolution came five years after the ‘Pentagon Papers’ case, where the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of The New York Times against an attempt by the Nixon administration to exercise prior restraint on a covert report regarding U.S. participation in Vietnam.
A modern question was posed by Judge Pittman on Wednesday – she queried whether the guidelines of the Nebraska case have become obsolete in the advent of widespread social media phenomena. ‘There was no Google back then. No Facebook,’ she pointed out, suggesting that times have significantly changed since that ruling.
Another point of contention raised by Judge Pittman was related to a 2023 ‘collaborative venture agreement’ between the administration of Mayor LaToya Cantrell and the producers of the show, which allowed them unique, on-the-ground access. As per this deal, the producers are required to submit ‘rough cut’ versions of their footage to police authorities. Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick was among some of the NOPD officials who reviewed a rough cut of ‘Predator on the Loose’, wherein Warren is portrayed as the prime suspect.
Witnesses testified that there is no evidence to suggest Warren gave consent to be filmed for the show. Mary Ellen Roy reiterated that obtaining explicit legal consent was not obligatory. NOPD’s homicide division veteran, Sgt. Rob Barrere, who acted as a liaison with the show, testified at the Wednesday hearing that these rough cuts were only for the NOPD’s perusal, essentially to ensure that they were content with the show’s narrative.
Sgt. Barrere confirmed that during his service as liaison, the NOPD never raised an issue with any of the episodes. Barrere laid out that the production team from A&E was supplied with crime scene images and several other pieces of evidence as part of their agreement, based on A&E’s request.
Warren’s legal team, led by Attorney Christine Lehmann, criticized the agreement between the city and the producers. Lehmann pointed out that in a case where Warren could face capital punishment, the gravity of the situation escalates. She also suggested that the show did not warrant the highest level of protection offered by the First Amendment.
Lehmann argued, ‘This isn’t a piece of conventional, impartial journalism, it’s merely entertainment.’ The office of District Attorney Jason Williams has chosen not to take a stance on the temporary restraining order plea. However, Mary Ellen Roy argued that prohibiting the network from broadcasting the episode until the trial concludes would be an unprecedented move in Louisiana.
Citing that the show narrates real criminal episodes, Roy defended the program. She stated that the law does not differentiate between ‘this kind of show and newspaper programming’. Describing the examination of the agreement with the town as a diversion, Roy stated, ‘The agreement between the city and my clients is irrelevant to whether a prior restraint can be ordered.’
‘The only question before this court is whether the broadcast of this episode infringes upon the defendant’s right to a fair trial,’ Roy added. However, Judge Pittman was not ready to make a decision and ordered another hearing for Monday, keeping the temporary halt on the episode in place. No information has been released regarding a trial date for Joel Warren.