EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – The defense team of Patrick Crusius, the man responsible for the Walmart shooting massacre, filed a motion last month to extend the gag order to include former District Attorney Bill Hicks, according to court documents obtained by KTSM.
As we previously reported, Judge Sam Medrano issued the gag order on July 1, 2022, stating that both parties may not discuss the case with the media.
According to Crusius’ defense team, Hicks repeatedly violated the gag order by granting numerous interviews to the media to discuss the case.
James Montoya beat incumbent Republican Hicks in the Nov. 5 general election, meaning that Hicks is now a private citizen.
Crusius’ defense team argues that “without the accountability of a new term as the elected district attorney and unrestrained by this court’s gag order, there will be little to keep Mr. Hicks’s potential public commentary from prejudicing the jury pool.”
However, Hicks argues that due to his private citizenship, he is entitled to freedom of speech protections. He also said enforcing an extended gag order would be” unconstitutional.”
Hicks said he has not made any attempts to talk about the case since leaving office. He stated that he “kept true to the spirit of the gag order, having never discussed the facts of the case, never discussed the trial strategies involved with the case, and never violated Texas Rules of Responsibility, Rule 3.07, which is the main basis in law for the court’s gag order.”
Read: Read More