Pattis: Judge’s gag order ‘changes nothing’
NORWALK — A gag order has been issued in the Jennifer Dulos case, but state Superior Court Judge John Blawie said it largely reinforces existing attorney conduct laws.
Blawie ruled in favor of the prosecution’s request for the order, saying comments by attorneys and other parties could affect a fair trial.
“The court finds that a substantial likelihood exists that the continued dissemination of extrajudicial comments by the parties identified in this order carries a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing a fair trial in this case,” Blawie wrote in his order.
“The court finds that entering a narrowlytailored order is the least restrictive means of ensuing and safeguarding the right to a fair trial for the benefit of the defendant, the state and the public.”
He said the order applies to the defense and prosecution, their respective staffs, all potential witnesses and local and state police.
Defense attorney Norm Pattis said the order “merely restated existing law.”
“It changes nothing," Pattis said.
Though the order only reaffirms what lawyers are already ordered to do under existing rules, Blawie wrote in the ruling, it also “permits the court to act promptly when faced with a possible violation by any of the trial participants subject to its terms.”
While some claim the order sets no new boundaries, others are taking the order literally.
When contacted about an ongoing state police search of a West Hartford reservoir Thursday, New Canaan Police Lt. Jason Ferraro said the gag order prevented him from providing any information.
“No information will be provided from this date forward regarding this case until the order is lifted or additional arrests are made,” he said.
In most cases, Blawie wrote, a gag order would be “unnecessary.” This case, however, is unusual, he said.
“The problem with pervasive information or misinformation in the social media age is that in a highprofile case, it carries the potential to overwhelm the vital, constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair trial,” Blawie wrote.
Blawie specifically cited theories floated by Pattis, such as Jennifer Dulos faking her own disappearance, a la the novel “Gone Girl,” or his suggestion that she might have perpetrated a “revenge suicide” plot. The theories have drawn sharp rebukes from Jennifer Dulos’ family and friends and “Gone Girl” author Gillian Flynn.
Blawie also called out supposed leaks from “law enforcement officials” and pervasive “theories masquerading as facts.”
“The extent and the nature of the coverage is not merely a result of the public record of the case, but rather, it reflects the tendency of some to fan the flames of publicity by providing the media with salacious, inadmissible, and often prejudicial details.”
The order came as Fotis Dulos pleaded not guilty Thursday to a new tampering with evidence charge in connection with his estranged wife’s disappearance.
Fotis Dulos, 52, was arrested at his Farmington home last week and released a few hours later after posting his second $500,000 bond.
The latest charges against
Fotis Dulos and Michelle Troconis, 44, are related to their efforts to clean up a 2001 red Toyota Tacoma that police believe was used in connection with Jennifer Dulos’ disappearance on May 24, according to their arrest warrants.
“We’ve had an opportunity to read the warrant and nothing places Mr. Dulos in that
car other than the state’s belief,” Pattis said during the arraignment at state Superior Court in Norwalk.
The truck belonged to a former Fore Group employee who told investigators Fotis Dulos ordered him to swap out the seats in the vehicle, according to the warrant. However, the employee kept the seats without Fotis Dulos knowing and turned them over to investigators who found Jennifer Dulos’ blood on one of them, the warrant said.
Fotis Dulos’ pretrial hearing scheduled for Friday in Stamford has been postponed to Oct. 4.
State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo had requested the gag order, saying Pattis has “undoubtedly crossed the line” by publicly making “improper and damaging” comments about the case, the prosecutor wrote in support of his motion.
“Media coverage has been extensive and pervasive. And much of it is centered on comments (Fotis) Dulos’ lawyer has made — many directly to the press — about the case,” Colangelo said.
Pattis penned an argument against the gag order that claimed Fotis Dulos has the right to respond to “damaging public comments fueled in large part by the warrant filed on existing charges and the sotto voce whispering of tattletale officers whispering innuendo to eager reporters.”
Pattis, who has a reputation as an outspoken advocate and legal maverick, has frequently been quoted in the media since joining the case.
Some lawyers and legal experts saw Pattis' strategy as an effort to influence potential jurors and combat the impression, based on filings in the couple’s bitter twoyear divorce, that Fotis Dulos was a bullying husband and domineering father who may have killed his wife and disposed of her body.
In addition to some of his theories, in an interview with WPLR’s Chaz and AJ, Pattis claimed that Troconis passed a polygraph test. However, Colangelo said Troconis has never taken a polygraph.
Police believe Jennifer Dulos was the victim of a “serious physical assault” based on evidence found in the garage of her New Canaan home, the warrants state.