Fair circumstances? Aiden Fucci's defense looks to limit evidence, media

Motions to limit evidence and media access in a first-degree murder case that shocked the county focus on a common purpose: defending the right to a fair trial, according to attorneys experienced in criminal defense law.

Aiden Fucci, 15, is accused of killing Patriot Oaks Academy classmate Tristyn Bailey, 13. She was found dead in an area near both of their homes in May 2021 in northwest St. Johns County. She had been stabbed 114 times, according to her autopsy.

Fucci pleaded not guilty.

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If convicted, he would receive at least 40 years and up to life in prison, under state law. His sentence would be up for review after 25 years. Fucci cannot be sentenced to death because of his age.

Fucci's defense team has filed motions that would, among other requests, prohibit the use of autopsy photos in the trial and restrict media coverage. Considerations include Fucci's constitutional rights and the First Amendment right to freedom of the press.

The nature of the crime and the ages of Fucci and Bailey have brought widespread media attention to the case.

"It's clear to me that the defense is worried about trying to find an impartial jury," said Attorney Daniel Hilbert, who is not connected to the case.

A former state prosecutor, Hilbert went into private practice in 2010 and is board-certified in criminal trial law. His trial experience includes cases of attempted murder, sexual battery and armed robbery, among other things.

He commented on recent filings by the defense in the Fucci case.

"I wouldn't say any of this is unusual," Hilbert said.

Officials from the public defender's office, which is representing Fucci, and the state attorney's office of the 7th Judicial Circuit both declined to speak with The Record about the case because it's still active.

Media access

In one motion, Fucci's attorney, Rosemarie Peoples, requested that Judge Lee Smith take action "to preserve and protect the defendant's (right) to a fair trial and due process under the law."

Among other motions, Peoples asked Smith to prohibit media and public access to pretrial hearings or to close access to pretrial evidentiary hearings.

So far, at least five public pretrial hearings have taken place in Fucci's case in Smith's courtroom.

For motions about media coverage, the focus is balancing the defendant's rights to a fair trial and due process with the right to the freedom of the press, Hilbert said.

According to the Florida Bar's Reporter's Handbook, "There is a common law right to attend pretrial hearings. The person asking to close the courtroom must satisfy a three-part test with evidence, not just speculation or argument of his or her lawyer, in order to overcome the presumption of access.

"A court may foreclose access to pretrial hearings only when the proponent of closure proves by the greater weight of the evidence that:

• Closure is necessary to prevent a serious and imminent threat to the administration of justice;

• There are no less restrictive alternatives other than a change of venue; and

• Closure will be effective in protecting the rights of the accused."

Media have an even stronger right to attend the trial based on the First Amendment, "but the court still may restrict access if it finds an overriding interest requires it and there are no alternatives to restricting access," according to the Florida Bar.

The Record, The Florida Times-Union and local television stations have submitted a memorandum of opposition to the defendant's motions to restrict media and public access.

Another defense motion requests that Smith prohibit video cameras from streaming from the courtroom during jury selection. The motion says that having video cameras present would undermine Fucci's right to a fair trial because jurors wouldn't feel comfortable being completely open about biases or prejudices.

The defense also wants jurors to be identified by number instead of name.

Attorney Jason B. Blank said, via email to The Record, how jurors are named depends on the judge and the case.

Blank, now a partner at his own law firm, was an assistant public defender in Broward County and handled cases involving first-degree murder and other charges. He is a former chair of the Florida Bar's Criminal Law Section.

Bailey's autopsy photos

Peoples also filed a motion asking the judge to set an evidentiary hearing to consider prohibiting the use of "autopsy or other defined photographs" during the trial.

The motion says "the post-mortem photographs of the decedent, taken either in the hospital or at the office of the medical examiner, are unduly prejudicial and would be used by the state for the primary purpose of inflaming the passions of the jurors."

While prohibiting autopsy photos is sometimes granted, it's "more likely that the court would limit the number of photos, or which specific photos are placed before the jury," Blank said via email. "It’s a balancing act of which photos are relevant and when they cross over to being cumulative and just inflaming the jury."

Location of the trial

A motion also says that the defense anticipates asking for a change of venue "as the media coverage of this case continues such that this defendant cannot receive a fair trial in any county of the Seventh Circuit nor the adjacent judicial circuits in Florida."

Blank said that courts do not favor moving cases out of their jurisdiction. Hilbert said a good-faith effort has to first be made to get a jury assembled in the county.

A fair and impartial jury doesn't mean that someone doesn't know anything about the case, Blank said. Instead, attorneys are looking for jurors who haven't made up their minds ahead of time.

He said in a high-profile case, jury selection can be difficult.

"It's very difficult to find a true fair and impartial jury," Blank said.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: Tristyn Bailey murder case: Defense seeks reduced access, evidence