hundreds of journalists and news organizations descend on north platt, the county seat to cover the investigationhe prosecution of simants. and ultimately, in order to control some of the pretrial publicity, about the case, and about simants' involvement in the case, the local trial courts there in lincoln county, nebraska placed a gag order on the press that purported to prohibit the press from publishing certain information about the crimes and about simants' involvement in the crime, and it was from that beginning that the constitutional collusion occurred between first amendment and sixth amendment interests and ultimately the case makes its way to the supreme court. the trial courts -- actually several versions of the gag order, but to get to the essence of it, the trial courts there two judges in particular, judge ronald rough the county court judge who handled the arraignment of simants and then later judge stuart, the district touter judge who ultimately heard the case, presided over the trial of simants. they were concerned about protecting simants' sixth amendment rights to an impartial