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Judge Denies Murder Trial Gag Motion
02/08/10 - 07:12 PM
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A German national accused of murdering her grandson while vacationing on St. George Island is pleading not guilty.  Marianne Bordt, 71, is charged with the January drowning death of 5-year-old Camden Heirs.  Appearing at a hearing in tears Monday, Bordt sat next to her court-appointed translator.

Bordt’s attorney Ines Suber motioned to prevent the State Attorney and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office from commenting on the case, and to seal pre-trial related evidence.  With the help of an investigator from Public Defender’s Office investigator Chris Elrick, she cited several news articles surrounding the case.

“After her initial arrest there was international attention as well as national attention specifically talking about her case,” said Elrick.

“She has a constitutional right to have access to a fair trial and it’s this court’s duty to ensure she has a fair trial,” said Suber, “If the evidence is not admissible to begin with it should not be disclosed because that will affect the right to a fair trial.”

Suber also pointed to comments and blogs related to the case.  Attorneys for the Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV contested.

“They are really no more than the modern version of people talking around a water cooler,” said the newspaper’s attorney Michael Glazer, “That’s what they are.”

“If they’re the kind of person who’s going to get on the internet and follow the blogs,” said WCTV attorney Elizabeth Barnsworth, “that’s something that needs to be fleshed out in the jury selection process.”

Comments and blogs on the internet weren’t publicity enough for Judge James Hankinson, who cited several other murder trials in recent history that received the same amount, or more public commentary.

“I don’t think there was in this instance an extreme amount of publicity beyond which any other murder case would generate,” he said, denying all three motions.

However, Suber will be allowed to contest specific evidence and submit questions to challenge jury selection.

“The good part about the judge’s ruling today is he left open the fact that the defense can file specific objections to certain parts of the discovery,” said Suber.

A full-blown hearing for probable cause in the case will be scheduled soon.  The case poses more than one challenge for Suber and others, as a language barrier continues to slow some processes.

“She speaks no English or very very little English and I’m Hispanic so it’s difficult for us,” said Suber, “But I understand so it’s a little bit more challenging but not impossible to defend.”

A case management hearing will take place March 9th, at 1:30pm.