This post is from Joel Ebert, who is covering the Don Blankenship trial with Ken Ward Jr.

Earlier today Blankenship’s attorneys filed a reply to the Gazette-Mail and West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s request for in camera voir dire.

In their reply, the attorneys say in order to ensure Blankenship’s right to a fair trial the media should continue to be prevented from hearing the proceedings.

“This is a case where prospective jurors likely harbor unfair prejudice against Mr. Blankenship. Closed voir dire is therefore necessary to ensure that such jurors may privately disclose their feelings about the case to the Court, without passing them on to other members of the venire.”

The attorney’s reply then provides details about the process that is currently underway, in which members of the public and the media are relegated to a separate courtroom and provided a video feed.

“The Court’s current approach to voir dire – individual questioning of each prospective juror at the bench with the husher on and a transcript recorded – ensures that each juror’s response is kept private from the other venire members and from the general public. It also permits the Court to accommodate the News Media Interveners’ interest in reporting on the conduct of voir dire by releasing a transcript of the proceedings, if it deems appropriate at some later date after the jury has been seated, with the jurors’ names and other identifying information redacted.”

The attorneys ultimately conclude the actions of preventing further access to the selection process as appropriate.

“There is no other reasonable alternative. The Court should continue with in camera voir dire and reject the News Media Interveners’ request for publicized voir dire.”

The attorneys also outline an alternative to the closure in their latest filing.

Their suggested solution: a recording a transcript of the proceedings which could be released at a later date.

Click here to read a copy of the letter the Gazette-Mail sent to Judge Berger yesterday.