Three Paxton Media Group organizations – WPSD, The Paducah Sun and the Marshall County Tribune Courier, have filed a petition for writ mandamus or prohibition Tuesday with the Kentucky Court of Appeals according to WPSD.
They claim Marshall County Circuit Judge Jamie Jameson, presiding over the Marshall County High School shooting case, committed serious misconduct. The filing claims Judge Jameson improperly interfered with efforts to prosecute 15-year-old shooting suspect Gabe Parker and he illegally closed Parker’s Feb. 16 arraignment and sealed records to hide his actions.
Parker is the suspected gunman in the Marshall County High School Jan. 23 shooting in which two 15-year-old students Bailey Holt and Preston Cope died and 18 others were injured.
Marshall County grand jury charged Parker on Tues. Feb. 13 with two counts of murder and 15 counts first degree assault. The arraignment in circuit court means he will be tried as an adult.
The court filing claims Jameson is acquainted with the suspect’s mother and appointed a public defender for Parker, with no legal authority to do so and alleges Jameson contacted a detective and tried to stop the detective’s interview with Parker.
Thursday, Feb. 20, according to WPSD, Paxton Media Group filed new documents with the Kentucky Court of Appeals accusing Jameson of holding a secret hearing in the case. The filing also claims Jameson violated numerous rules regarding gag orders when he issued the gag order forbidding the Commonwealth Attorney, defense attorney Tom Griffiths, County Attorney Jeff Edwards and Assistant County Attorney Jason Darnall from speaking about the case to the public.
Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Jacob Ford released this statement to WPSD:
“Anytime the public’s right to information in a criminal case is infringed, especially in a case of this magnitude, of course there is cause for concern. But the Commonwealth does not control the court room, nor the manner in which hearings are conducted. The court requested our presence, along with the Defendant’s counsel, to the conference in question on February 19, and it is our duty to represent the Commonwealth when called upon by the court, no matter the circumstance. My singular focus in this case since January 23 has been on the victims and their families, and it will remain as such until we have exhausted every possible avenue to prosecute Gabriel Parker to the fullest extent of the law as an adult. That is the task at hand and we remain fully committed to that cause.”
Paxton Media Group is challenging Jameson’s decision to close the Feb. 16 arraignment, claiming that closing it to the public was illegal.
Consideration is also begin made by Parker’s defense to transfer the case back to juvenile court to which Jameson ordered Parker’s attorney to file any motion challenging the Circuit Court’s jurisdiction by March 8 and gave the prosecutor until March 12 to file a response.
Friday, the Commonwealth Attorney’s office requested that chief Justice Minton of the Kentucky Supreme Court appoints a special judge in this case.
According to reports, Jameson has not been asked to recuse himself.