A Cook County judge Tuesday denied a gag order in the Marlen Ochoa-Lopez case but admonished relatives and supporters for making inflammatory comments about the three defendants charged in the murder of the pregnant 19-year-old, and barred them from bringing signs and posters into the courthouse.
In the months since Desiree and Clarisa Figueroa were arrested for allegedly strangling Ochoa-Lopez and slicing her unborn son from her womb, a group of supporters have attended each pre-trial hearing in the case. Typically, as they leave the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, they have paused in front of reporters to blast the Figueroas and their co-defendant, Piotr Bobak, insisting that all three are guilty and demanding harsh prison sentences.
Lawyers representing the Figueroas and Bobak, who is charged with helping cover up the killing, had asked Judge Peggy Chiampas to take the unorthodox step of issuing a gag order— not just on lawyers and defendants in the case, but on Ochoa-Lopez’s husband, Yovani Lopez, and several community activists.
“The statements made to the media by these individuals, they absolutely pose a serious and imminent threat to the fairness of these proceedings, they desecrate the fundamental tenets of the criminal justice system,” said Assistant Public Defender Margaret Domin, who represents Clarisa Figueroa. “Statements like, ‘We don’t care about the presumption of innocence...’ and ‘I can’t see how for the life of me this case can have due process.’”
Chiampas on Tuesday addressed Lopez through a Spanish translator, and warned him and his backers of the dangers of tainting the defendants’ due process rights. The judge declined to enter an order barring them from speaking or curtailing public access to the proceedings, but did ban the posters and placards depicting the defendants that supporters frequently bring to the courthouse.
“It is in the interest, Mr. Lopez, of you and your family to ensure that your loved ones also have a fair and impartial trial in this matter, particularly if there is a jury involved,” Chiampas said. “I will not resort to restricting the public’s right of access unless I have to. And I will.”
Lopez and his family left the courthouse without speaking to reporters.
But family attorney Frank Avila said, “I respect the order [banning posters]. I respect the rule of law. We realize that the defendants are innocent until proven guilty and there is due process. However, I will continue to aggressively advocate for my client.”
