QC media companies file for access to case

The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus, WQAD-NewsChannel 8 and the Quad-City Times have filed a motion contesting a judge's ruling banning them and other media from covering proceedings involving a juvenile involved in the Adrianne Reynolds murder case. The judge had issued the ruling after media outlets published pictures of the minor as well as his name.

During testimony at Mr. Gregory's preliminary hearing Feb. 1, an Illinois State Police special agent identified the juvenile by name and outlined his alleged involvement in the case.

Later in the day, the juvenile made his first appearance in juvenile court. Prior to the start of that hearing, the court admonished the press not to publish the juvenile's name or his photograph.

Following the hearing, authorities led the juvenile to a waiting car out the courthouse doors where he was photographed by several news organizations.

The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus published both the juvenile's name and his photograph. WQAD-NewsChannel 8 broadcast similar information, while the Quad-City Times published his name.

The three parties in the motion argue that this ban amounts to prior restraint and cite a 1989 Illinois Supreme Court ruling dealing with similar circumstances involving a Kankakee newspaper they say support their claims.