Media told to stay off district attorney's floor

Sheriff's Office has 'polite' request

DURHAM -- After weeks in the media spotlight, sheriff's officials told the news media to stay off the floor of the Durham County courthouse on which Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong's office is located.

A visit to the sixth floor of the Durham County Judicial Building by a reporter from The News & Observer on Thursday morning was followed by an e-mail message sent to the newspaper and other media outlets by Maj. Lucy Zastrow of the county Sheriff's Office.

"This is a friendly reminder to everyone who is employed by or representing any media to please stay off the 6th floor of the Judicial Building," Zastrow wrote. "There are no exemptions to this request. This request is in place until further notice."

Zastrow said in an interview that reporters seen on the floor would be asked to leave by a uniformed deputy.

For more than a month, national and regional reporters have flocked to the sixth floor when new developments have surfaced in an investigation into a reported rape at a Duke University lacrosse team party. On April 17, when a grand jury indicted two of the team's players, scores of reporters staked out the sixth floor from 8:30 a.m., when the building opened, until after 5 p.m., when the courthouse closed.

Chuck Kitchen, the Durham County attorney, said Zastrow's e-mail message was never intended to selectively ban media representatives. That would be illegal, he said.

"They don't have that authority," he said of the Sheriff's Office. "The courthouse is a public building, open to the public."

Kitchen said that, by his interpretation, the e-mail message was intended to convey that the media shouldn't congregate in the courthouse halls, blocking access for others, creating a fire hazard or a disturbance. If that were to occur, Kitchen said, a sheriff's deputy could ask members of the media to move.

Nifong said he had talked to Zastrow about keeping television cameras from stalking him every time he leaves his office. Reporters have followed Nifong to a water fountain and to the bathroom.

"It was just shameful," Nifong said. "It makes it a circus up here."

After the county attorney called Zastrow, she clarified her request:

"You're not welcome on the sixth floor. I am trying to be polite about it," Zastrow said. "[The e-mail message] was just asking the media to be courteous. There's a difference between the law and a request. It was never meant to be a threat. If you don't leave when asked, nothing will happen."