STAMFORD, Conn. – A Superior Court judge has rejected a request by Court TV to allow cameras in the courtroom for the murder trial of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel.
Judge John F. Kavanewsky Jr. has given written notice of his decision to the cable television station and lawyers involved in the case, Skakel lawyer Michael Sherman told the Hartford Courant. Sherman said he received his letter on Monday.
State court rules allow still and video cameras in the courtroom, but only with the consent of the trial judge. All media requests to televise and photograph court proceedings in Connecticut have been rejected since the O.J. Simpson murder trial six years ago.
Kavanewsky's letter specifically addresses the request by Court TV, but it suggests that he would turn down similar requests.
Monday also was the deadline for lawyers on both sides to file preliminary motions.
Skakel, 40, is accused of beating Martha Moxley to death with a golf club on her wealthy family's estate in Greenwich on Oct. 30, 1975. Skakel and Moxley were both 15 at the time.
Skakel has pleaded innocent, and he remains free on a $500,000 bond.
Kavanewsky last month found enough evidence exists to proceed to trial. No trial date has been set.
In their motions, prosecutors are seeking to restrict public statements made by lawyers involved in the case.
Sherman, in his motions, wants access to a wide range of evidence, some of which may not even exist. The defense team is seeking any evidence that may have been lost or destroyed, any evidence sent to labs for forensic testing, any autopsy and crime photographs of Moxley and any voice-print analyses done in connection with the case.
Sherman also wants access to the transcripts of all witnesses who testified during the grand jury investigation that resulted in Skakel's arrest in January 2000.
Both sides have until June 5 to respond to the motions that have been filed.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox