From the archives: DA seeks gag order on Ferguson lawyers

This story was originally published in Newsday on April 2, 1994.

The Nassau District Attorney's office is seeking to stifle lawyers involved in the Colin Ferguson case from speaking publicly about it.

William Kunstler and Ronald Kuby, attorneys for the man charged with killing six people and wounding 19 others on a Long Island Rail Road train, will oppose the request in a hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Nassau County Court Judge Donald Belfi ordered Kunstler and Kuby to and explain why a gag order should not be imposed. Assistant District Attorney George Peck confirmed the request for the order, but would not comment.

Kuby said he was flabbergasted by the request, complaining that Nassau County officials and police have unleashed "an unceasing campaign of vituperation against my client." County Executive Tom Gulotta received national attention after calling Ferguson "an animal" the night of the shooting.

Kunstler and Kuby have said they will mount a defense of Ferguson based on the theory that he was overcome with "black rage" at his racist treatment in American society. Despite the publicity, Kuby said, "I haven't seen any improper groundswell of public support for Colin Ferguson."

With Shirley E. Perlman