Gag Order In Mcveigh Trial Issued

DENVER - Determined to avoid a circus-like atmosphere, the judge in the Oklahoma City bombing case has barred both sides from speaking publicly until the trial is over.

U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch yesterday revised an earlier order that would have allowed attorneys to talk to reporters once a jury is seated.

The order prohibits defendant Timothy McVeigh, lawyers and "persons associated with them," all law-enforcement personnel and court personnel from talking about the case outside the courtroom.

"The public interests in understanding and evaluating these trial proceedings will be satisfied by the reportage being provided by news organizations," he wrote.

During pretrial hearings, both sides talked with media as long as they restricted explanations to what occurred in court. A gag order was issued for jury selection but now will continue through the trial.

Matsch said trial participants "are prohibited from making any comments or statements outside the courtroom concerning any of the evidence, court rulings and opinions regarding the trial proceedings and anything concerning the jury."

It wasn't clear why the judge felt compelled to issue a written order, but in recent days McVeigh's attorney, Stephen Jones, has made public comments on jury selection and the release of a report critical of the FBI crime lab. Prosecutors have refused to comment publicly.

The order was released as jury selection completed its 13th day, with another jury candidate expressing ignorance of facts of the case. Asked if she knew the name of the federal building that was bombed, the woman guessed it was the "Fred MacMurray Building."

It's actually called the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, named after a federal appeals-court judge, not the star of Disney films and the 1960s sitcom "My Three Sons."

McVeigh faces execution if convicted of murder and conspiracy in the April 19, 1995, bombing, which killed 168 people.