Media objects to not allowing video access at Vallow, Daybell hearings
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Local media, including Local News 8, along with other regional and national media organizations have joined together to object to a motion that would not allow video access to court hearings for Lori Vallow-Daybell.
Idaho Falls Attorney Steve Wright filed the formal objection for the media in Fremont County Court Friday to a motion filed by Special Prosecutor Rob Wood.
Last week, Wood filed a motion to suppress access to the live coverage of legal motions involving Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow-Daybell in pending court cases relating to the disappearance of two of her children.
In light of COVID-19, Wright calls video access to criminal proceedings much more than a convenience. “It is an important means to ensure the Constitutional interests described by our United States Supreme Court are protected,” said Wright.
He argued that transparency and open proceedings also facilitate Vallow-Daybell’s rights to the proper administration of the judicial process.
Wright maintains Wood’s motion is disproportionate to the Constitutional burdens it imposes. He argued that…”the State of Idaho seeks to use a sledge hammer where the Constitution requires a scalpel.”
The participating media includes East Idaho News, Post Register, KSL-TV, Idaho Statesman, NBC News, KIFI Local News 8, KPVI-TV and KIVI-TV.
