LUBBOCK -
Lips are sealed in the cases against Debi and James Holland, the mother and stepfather of murder victim Holli Jeffcoat. Lubbock District Judge Trey McClendon issued a gag order last week because the case is now gaining national attention due to its complexity and disturbing nature.
Gag orders are put in place for two reasons.
"The judge has to determine that there is an immediate and irreparable harm to this case or specifically to the defendant and second, this is as least restrictive as it can get," FOX 34's legal analyst Curtis Parrish said.
Some judges believe the best way to safeguard the integrity of the trial process is to put a muzzle on all involved.
"This release of information could potentially force a change of venue," Parrish said.
"The judge's concerned that he might not be able to get a fair trial in Lubbock and he wants to try the case here if he can," criminal defense attorney Rod Hobson said.
That's why the news media gag order prohibit the release of any reports, audio, video tapes or other information that could potentially cause grounds for a change of venue in the trials of these two defendants.
"The judge's ruling potentially shows that this release of information could potentially taint the jury pool to the point where they have so much information that they could not make a fair and balance decision on this case, that's the irreparable harm," Parrish said.
The most recent case with a gag order was Thomas Dixon's capital murder trial.
"People might have formed an opinion based on what they've read or hear about the case, so if you can restrict what they read or hear about the case, he's more likely to get a jury in Lubbock County versus if there's a lot of publicity," Hobson said.
Hobson said the most overriding factor for the order is to try and get an unbiased impartial jury pool.
"Things might come in, in the media that might not be admissible in court, maybe some body's prior criminal history, hear-say type questions, that kind of thing," Hobson said.
Hobson said violating the gag order could result in jail time.
"It's enforceable by contempt basically somebody violates the court order in other words you could actually be jailed for violating the order."
However for the media, it's all fair game.
"The order's not against the media, the order is against the prosecutors and the attorneys and the investigators and all of those people directly involved in the case, they're the ones that cannot speak out against this case," Parrish said.
The judge must weigh the importance of the public's right to know versus the defendants right to a fair trial. In this case, the defendants hold the trump card.
