The Arkansas Supreme Court has issued a stay of a lower court's gag order that has blocked the release of many details surrounding an Aug. 11 shooting on the campus of Southern Arkansas University in Magnolia, pending further review by the state's high court.
Attorneys for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Arkansas Press Association last month challenged the gag order, arguing in a petition to the Supreme Court that the circuit court judge's order was overly broad, in excess of the court's authority and an infringement on the rights of the press.
Authorities in southern Arkansas did not immediately say Friday whether they intend to release documents related to the criminal case after the Supreme Court issued its stay on the gag order Thursday.
Four defendants -- three of them SAU students -- are in custody without bail at the Columbia County jail in connection with the shooting. They face charges of capital murder and aggravated robbery.
[DOCUMENT: Supreme Court order » arkansasonline.com/919supr/]
Joshua Keshun Smith, a 21-year-old senior from Sparkman studying engineering physics, was killed in the shooting, which officials said took place in a university parking lot. Another student who has not been identified was hospitalized.
Although Southern Arkansas University at first publicized the basic facts of the incident, as well as the arrests of the suspects, records such as incident reports, communications of school officials and probable-cause affidavits have been held back, with authorities citing the gag order.
Judge David Talley Jr. of the 13th Judicial Circuit issued four identical gag orders for the four defendants during a hearing last month, explaining, "I'm just watching out for both sides."
Additionally, Talley directed the Columbia County circuit clerk to seal all documents in the case, including probable-cause affidavits.
Columbia County deputy prosecuting attorney Ryan Phillips requested the gag order during the Aug. 17 arraignment of the defendants, the Democrat-Gazette reported at the time.
The "order regarding publicity" issued by Talley for each of the defendants prohibits many categories of people from releasing documents or commenting outside of court on any evidence tending to establish the guilt or innocence of the jailed individuals, as well as making other statements related to the criminal proceedings.
The categories of people barred from speaking include parties to the case, their families and friends, "any media outlets, directly or indirectly," attorneys connected to the case, the university and law enforcement officers.
In addition to placing a stay on the gag order, the Arkansas Supreme Court directed Talley to file copies of the gag orders with the Columbia County circuit clerk within three days. In turn, the clerk was ordered to supplement the Supreme Court's record of the case no more than five days after that.
The brief order from the Supreme Court indicated that Justice Shawn Womack would not have granted a stay of the gag order.
John Tull, one of the attorneys who challenged the gag order as counsel for the Arkansas Press Association, said in an interview Friday morning that he interprets the Supreme Court's order to mean there is no gag order in place and the documents associated with the case "should be open."
Tull added that while he cannot predict what further orders may come from the Supreme Court, for now, from his point of view, the gag orders "are stayed, meaning that there should not be any impediment to the document[s] at this time."
When reached via email Friday, Jeff Rogers, the prosecuting attorney for the 13th Judicial District, did not say whether his office will now release information associated with the case. He deferred to the office of the Arkansas attorney general.
"You should direct your questions to the AG's office, inasmuch as the AG is our counsel of record," Rogers wrote.
Rogers did not respond when asked if his interpretation is that the gag order remains in place.
Donna Allen, vice president for student affairs at Southern Arkansas University, did not respond to an email Friday requesting comment on the Supreme Court's order.
The three university students charged in connection with the incident are Odies Wilson, 21, Le'Kamerin "Kam" Tolbert, 20, and Shaivonn "Shakey" Robinson, 19. Another man not attending the university, 19-year-old Quincy Lewis, also has been charged.
The university faced criticism from some students for not closing the campus in the aftermath of the shooting, which reportedly occurred shortly after midnight Aug. 11, hours before the first day of fall classes was scheduled to get underway.
In an interview the day of the shooting, Southern Arkansas University President Trey Berry said the incident was believed to be isolated and there was no imminent threat to the rest of the campus community, according to law enforcement.