ESPN opposes access limits in Miami murder trial
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- ESPN, NBCUniversal Media (owner of NBC6 South Florida), and the McClatchy Company filed a Thursday motion ahead of a Monday hearing before Florida 11th Circuit Court Judge Cristina Miranda, opposing any closure or gag order in the Rashaun Jones retrial.
- Jones, a former University of Miami football player, is charged in the Nov. 7, 2006 shooting death of teammate Bryan Pata; a first trial ended in a hung jury this spring and the retrial was pushed from May to September amid disputes over new evidence.
- Defense attorney Sara Alvarez filed a separate Wednesday motion also opposing both a media ban and gag order, stating Jones 'welcomes the scrutiny of the press as to all aspects of this case.'
- The media motion argues there is a 'well-established presumption that pretrial proceedings and trials are open to the public,' and notes courts rejected similar restrictions in the Parkland school shooting case and the Ted Bundy trial.
- The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office has not stated a position on closure but filed a motion asking the court to order defense counsel to turn over any correspondence with reporters, citing concerns about privileged communications and dissemination of law enforcement information.
- New complications since the mistrial include an internal police probe into the lead detective over an alleged anonymous social media account commenting on the defendant and witnesses, a Florida Bar misconduct complaint against the former lead prosecutor, and the reintroduction of a jailhouse informant whose deposition was posted on a YouTube personality's account.
- At a June 17 hearing, Judge Miranda said social media activity in the case — including posts 'pro and against' Jones — was interfering with jury selection and that she would 'have to take control of it a little more firmly.'
Why it matters: Public-access fights in criminal trials are routine, but this one is unusual because the defense is explicitly aligned with the press against the judge, with Jones himself waiving his fair-trial right in favor of openness. The September retrial will proceed under whatever restrictions Miranda imposes Monday — and the media coalition's invocation of the Parkland and Bundy precedents signals outlets are prepared to escalate if any gag order or closure sticks.
