Judge grants prosecution’s request for gag order in Arizona sweat lodge manslaughter case
By APWednesday, March 31, 2010
Judge grants gag order in Ariz. sweat lodge case
CAMP VERDE, Ariz. — An Arizona judge has granted the prosecution’s request for a gag order in the case of a motivational speaker charged with manslaughter.
State prosecutors made the request Feb. 12, claiming it’s needed to limit pretrial publicity that could taint the jury pool. Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Warren Darrow granted it Wednesday and ordered attorneys on both sides to comply with ethical rules that govern their conduct.
Self-help author James Arthur Ray has pleaded not guilty to three counts of manslaughter stemming from the deaths of three people following a sweat lodge ceremony he led in October near Sedona. His trial is scheduled to begin in late August.
Sweat lodges commonly are used by American Indian tribes to cleanse the body.
