Lee County Judge Jacob Walker III denied a gag order requested by the district attorney in the case of Harvey Updyke Jr., who is accused of poisoning the Toomer's oaks.
The judge chose to allow the The Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct to govern the behavior of Updyke and his attorney.
Glennon Threatt, Updyke's attorney, said he is pleased with the decision.
"I think that's great," Threatt said after the decision was announced. "You know what they wanted was more than that. They wanted us to be prohibited from talking to the media at all, and you'd have to ask them why they felt that was appropriate. You know I disagree."
The gag order request, filed in May by the district attorney's office, was intended to seal case records.
The order would create restricted access to future court affairs and prohibit the parties involved from speaking with the media.
The judge said he would not seal records, except for those concerning mental evaluations.
Walker said he would let the interaction between the attorneys and the public be governed by the state's rule of professional responsibility.
The status hearing is set for August because both the prosecution and defense voiced concerns about being prepared to go to trial by the tentative court date set for June.
In late May, Harvey Updyke pleaded not guilty. He claimed a mental disease or defect caused the two counts of first-degree criminal mischief, two counts of desecrating a venerated object and two counts of unlawful damage, vandalism or theft of property from a farm-animal or crop facility.
The delay in court date allows the time needed for the results of mental evaluation to be made available and the appropriate tests to completed on the soil of Toomer's trees.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
