Judge James Zagel has asked prosecutors and defense attorneys in the Rod Blagojevich corruption trial to come together for a “lawyerly agreement” over what can be said outside the courtroom, following the government’s motion asking Zagel to put a gag on the defense.
The prosecutor made the request in writing after both Blagojevich and his attorney, Sam Adam Jr., did a stand-up in front of television cameras Tuesday following the testimony of former aide Lon Monk.
“This is a source of some concern for me,” Zagel told attorneys after the jury had left the courtroom for the day. “The reason has to do in some respects on how we get our news today.”
Zagel compared television news to delivering information in an “MTV style,” where many of the details are left out.
“I don’t much care if the jury gets exposed to something that is already in court,” Zagel said. “The part that bothers me is argument and interpretation.”
Adam Jr., in his comments to reporters on Tuesday, tried to pick apart the testimony that Monk had given earlier that day on the stand. Zagel said that, “one thing I can require under the law … is absolute accuracy in terms of attorneys’ comments.”
As for Blagojevich, Zagel said that the ex-governor’s public comments have amounted to “a backhanded plea for sympathy” as well as arguments that are “absolutely devoid of details.”
Zagel explained that the law specifically excludes an appeal to sympathy, further opining that “sympathy is a weapon that can be used by both sides.”
He told the lawyers that he could address the issue of public comments in three ways, with the aforementioned “lawyerly agreement” as his preference.
If that doesn’t work, he said he could, as a “last resort,” bar both parties from speaking in public until the trial is over. An only slightly better option, Zagel continued, would be to let the prosecution duke it out with the defense in front of the cameras.
“I don’t think anything anybody has said yet will have any effect of any kind,” Zagel said. However, he expressed concern about an impact such statements would have in the last few weeks of the trial.
In the meantime, Zagel said, “I urge anyone to exercise extreme caution.”