Supreme Court Sides With Paper

AP 8-18,2015

The Wyoming Supreme Court has reversed a lower court that sought to prohibit news media from identifying juveniles who will testify during a murder trial in Cheyenne.

The state high court on Monday sided with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle newspaper which had objected to the order from Laramie County District Judge Thomas Campbell. The justices agreed with the newspaper’s argument that if any witness has been threatened, his or her identity already must be known to the perpetrator.

The matter comes up as Phillip Sam goes to trial this week for the shooting death of 19-year-old Tyler Burns in Cheyenne last October.

Sam was 16 at the time but is being tried as an adult. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder and 12 counts of aggravated assault.