Judge rejects gag order in shooting case

NEW YORK — A New York County judge refused to issue a gag order in late April in the case of a man charged with killing six people on a Long Island Railroad commuter train.

Nassau County Judge Donald Belfi temporarily granted the prosecution’s request to ban the attorneys from talking about the case with the media while he considered a defense motion opposing it.

On April 22, in deciding against the gag order, Belfi wrote that he was obligated to consider the “least restrictive means” to cure the problem of pre-trial publicity and that in this case, its impact will fade in the months before the trial begins.

(People v. Colin Ferguson)