Tagged: savannah dietrich

In the wake of the high-profile Savannah Dietrich court case, a bill in the Kentucky House would prevent judges from issuing gag orders against sexual assault victims undergoing trial in juvenile court.

If approved, House Bill 115 would allow juvenile crime victims to speak freely about their cases, said state Rep. Keith Bratcher, a Louisville Republican.

ABC News' Nighline program will air a piece this evening on Savannah Dietrich, the Louisville teenager who faced contempt charges for tweeting the names of two boys who sexually assaulted her.

Attorneys said the tweet violated the confidentiality of the juvenile proceeding. But Dietrich's story spread rapidly across the Internet, and Courier-Journal reporter Jason Riley calls Dietrich "a bit of a First Amendment hero" in the Nightline piece:

After a controversial sexual assault case caught national attention, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell announced Wednesday that he is crafting legislation to lift confidentiality in Kentucky Juvenile Courts.

Earlier this week, 17-year-old Savannah Dietrich faced a contempt charge for revealing the names of two boys who were found guilty of sexually assaulting her last year. Dietrich was upset with the plea bargain prosecutors made and revealed her attackers names via Twitter, which violated a court order to keep that information confidential.

She faced a maximum 180 days in jail and a $500 fine, but the attorneys for the boys dropped the contempt charges earlier this week.

O'Connell says the case demonstrates the strict state law is out of date and that juvenile court should be open to the public.

"Kentucky is in a long standing minority in connection with that and I think it's out of step and time to have an open and honest and vigorous debate on this subject," he says.

Attorneys have withdrawn a contempt motion against 17-year-old Savannah Dietrich of Louisville.

The motion was filed after Dietrich tweeted about the two boys who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting her. By naming them, their attorneys said, Dietrich violated the confidentiality of a juvenile hearing. But the filing gathered national attention, and has now been withdrawn.

From the Courier-Journal:

Defense attorneys for two boys who pleaded guilty to assaulting a 17-year-old Savannah Dietrich have withdrawn their motion that she be held in contempt for tweeting the names of her attackers in defiance of a court order.

David Mejia, an attorney for one of the teens, said now that the Louisville teen’s story has gone global because of a Courier-Journal article on Saturday there was no reason to continue the contempt motion.