Rice, Nichole

The Minot woman accused in the 2007 murder of Anita Knutson has filed an objection to two expanded media requests for her trial, which is scheduled to commence on Monday in Grand Forks.

The objection, filed by the attorneys of Nichole Rice on Monday, requested District Judge Richard Hagar deny both expanded media requests on the grounds that the expanded media access to the proceedings would “materially interfere” with their client’s right to a fair trial.

The requests were filed by North Dakota Newspaper Association attorney Jack McDonald on behalf of television network Court TV, which seeks to place cameras and microphones in the courtroom, and a number of North Dakota newspapers and affiliates and other national outlets for access to Zoom coverage of the trial. The Zoom coverage request was made due to the travel required for coverage of the trial by some in the media and to ease media congestion in the courtroom.

Court TV is a national network that specializes in televised gavel-to-gavel trial coverage. McDonald noted in his request that Court TV has recently used its robotic cameras to provide pool coverage in the murder trials of Chad Isaak in 2021 in Mandan and Nikki Entzel in Bismarck in 2022.

McDonald assured the court in his filing that Court TV would not provide coverage of jury selection but would commence its coverage with opening statements. The cameras would be positioned in the courtroom so as to preserve the privacy of jurors and would be operated remotely from outside the courtroom by a technician.

The request also asks for permission to place microphones to capture testimony from witnesses and record the attorneys as they conduct their examinations. McDonald emphasized that Court TV would mute all microphones during sidebars, at counsel tables and during recesses and would only broadcast statements made by an attorney, witness or judge in open court.

McDonald’s request also argued that pooled coverage would result in less media personnel in the courtroom to allow for the most unobtrusive coverage possible.

Rice’s attorney, William Sand, cited precedent which found that while there is a guarantee of a public trial, this guarantee does not include the live broadcast or taping of the proceedings. Sand argued his client had already required a granted order of a change of venue due to extensive media coverage of Knutson’s murder 18 years ago and in the nearly three years since his client’s arrest.

“Expanded Media Coverage subsequently and unnecessarily heightens the risk of eliminating the ability to keep the jurors impartial until the conclusion of trial, as required under the law and despite any admonition,” Sand wrote in his argument. Sand concluded asking Hagar to deny both requests in their entirety.

Hagar had previously granted three expanded media coverage orders after Rice’s arrest in March 2022, which applied to “all future proceedings in this case.” However, on Feb. 20, Hagar rescinded his previous order, requiring all media coverage to conform to “strict” accordance with the North Dakota Rules of Court and administrative rules, which limit media coverage to two professional-quality video cameras, two audio systems for radio broadcasts and two still photographers.

A status conference has been scheduled today at 9 a.m. at the Ward County Courthouse in Minot. Rice’s trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Monday in Grand Forks.