KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Team ROC hired attorneys for KSHB 41, the Kansas City Star and other media outlets to argue cameras should be allowed in the federal court trial of former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski.
Golubski is set for trial on Dec. 2 in federal court in Topeka on charges of deprivation of civil rights.
The motion states Golubski "stands accused of an atrocious list of sexual crimes perpetrated against vulnerable young women during his long tenure as a law enforcement officer with the KCK Police Department. Over the course of several years, defendant allegedly committed the crimes of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, attempt to commit aggravated sexual assault and attempted kidnapping, all while acting under the color of law, and all against residents of KCK, more than 60 miles from Topeka, the site chosen by the Court for the upcoming trial."
Though the motion recognizes that Rule 53 generally prohibits broadcasting a trial in the courtroom, in this case, the live stream would be broadcast from an overflow room and not inside a court room itself.
Therefore doing so wouldn't violate Rule 53.
The courtroom is expected to quickly fill up each day of the trial.
Lawyers argue that some people who have an interest in the trial might not be able to afford transportation to and from Topeka each day of the trial.
The trial is scheduled for 17 non-consecutive days and will run into January 2025
The court filing also includes the procedures used during the televised trial of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis police officer accused of the murder of George Floyd.
Golubski was first arrested at his home in Edwardsville, Kansas, in September 2022.
His arrest came after years of the KCK community and social justice organizations accusing him of abusing and terrorizing Black men and women.
__
