With the progression of modern technologies like Facebook, e-mail and the posting of comments, questions are rising about if a local murder suspect has been convicted without going to trial.

While it was not necessarily a motion for a gag order in the murder of Anthony Hill by accused killer Gregory Collins defense attorney Charles Gross went before Resident Circuit Judge Eugene “Bubba” Griffith asking that those involved in the case have their statements censored.

Gross said that statements about the crime from Sheriff Lee Foster were unfair in that he described the murder as “horrific” , as one of the worst he had ever seen and that Collins would go to jail for life if convicted. He said Foster never stated Collins is innocent until proven guilty.

Gross said such statements that had been aired in local, state and national media would sway a jury’s mind and was trying the case in the media.

The attorney also criticized Foster for sending out press releases to anyone who asked and the concern over Facebook comments and comments to stories on the case.

Gross went as far as saying individuals had called his client names in comments in social media.

While one option in the case could be a gag order where none of the parties involved could discuss the case, Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace said everyone just needed to abide by the ethics they were bound to uphold and that the case should be tried in the courtroom.

Griffith advised the parties involved to use ethical controls about the case and allow the facts to come out in a controlled environment of a courtroom.

Peace added he had no control over the Sheriff’s Office comments and he can not tell them not to say something.

Concerns were also voice if the grand jury could impartially here the facts in the case.

Griffith said he administrated the oath to the grand jury and the members were told they needed to excuse themselves if they could not be impartial.

Also, the Sheriff’s Office has agreed to have lead investigator Robert Dennis present the case to the grand jury.

Normally, a person assigned to court from a law enforcement agency presides over all the cases being presented to the grand jury from their agency. This means that an officer not working on the case could present the facts in it.

Gross also asked for the state to hold on getting an indictment in the case until all the facts are known. Peace countered that finding all the facts could take a long time and he was ordered by the court to present the case to the grand jury within 90 days.

The case could be presented to the grand jury on Friday.