Allegrezza

Petitioner Vincent Allegrezza, 16 years of age, was arrested and accused of murdering four members of an Alameda County family. The homicides and Allegrezza’s arrest were given widespread county publicity by the press and other news media. The juvenile court found him not to be a fit subject for its jurisdiction. He was thereafter indicted by the grand jury on four counts of murder. He entered pleas of not guilty in the superior court. On Allegrezza’s motion, Judge Wilson of that court directed “The parties to this action, their attorneys, their investigators, witnesses or court officials]” not to “release to any news media” any information concerning the existence of evidence, or the probable testimony of any witness.

Thereafter, pursuant to Evidence Code section 402, subdivision (b), a hearing was held before Judge Cooper of the superior court on the issue of the voluntariness of a confession alleged to have been made by Allegrezza. That hearing had also received widespread media publicity and many members of the public and press corps were present. Allegrezza moved that the hearing be held in camera. The motion was “vigorously” opposed by the People, and it was…