A journalist who wrote about Aaron Hernandez’s tattoos will not have to testify at the double murder trial of the former New England Patriots star, a New Jersey judge ruled Monday.
A 10-page ruling from Essex County, N.J., Judge Ronald D. Wigler concerns reporter Kelly Whiteside, who wrote about Hernandez’s tattoos for USA Today in 2009.
The Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, which is prosecuting Hernandez, had served New Jersey prosecutors with an interstate subpoena to compel Whiteside to testify as a government witness.
Officials in Massachusetts determined that Whiteside’s interview of Hernandez showed that his tattoos “told a story of his life and read like an autobiography,’’ Wigler wrote.
New Jersey prosecutors had described Whiteside in an earlier court filing as likely “the only witness who would be able to express’’ Hernandez’s practice of using tattoos to “tell his life story.’’
Suffolk prosecutors contend that Hernandez got additional tattoos in the spring of 2013 to memorialize the fatal shootings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in Boston’s South End in July 2012. Hernandez is charged in their killings, and has pleaded not guilty.
In his ruling, Wigler wrote that Whiteside cannot be forced to testify about her professional work without compromising her First Amendment protections.
“Much has been written lately and debated about the quality of the press and its veracity, but that is not at issue here,’’ Wigler wrote. “The press cannot be so readily controlled or even influenced by the government because of the importance of its independence and the need to avoid a chilling effect on its mission.’’
Wigler said he would reconsider if circumstances change.
“If, during the trial of Mr. Hernandez, additional facts and circumstances arise that this court did not consider and that the state believes in good faith constitute a ‘manifestly compelling’ need for Ms. Whiteside’s testimony, this Court will reopen this matter and hold an emergency hearing,’’ the judge wrote.
Jury selection for the trial concluded Monday, and potential backup jurors were questioned Tuesday.
One woman was chosen as a reserve juror to be tapped if any of the 16 seated jurors are removed. One potential reserve juror who was excused Tuesday told Judge Jeffrey Locke that she was a fan of the Denver Broncos.
“Would it leave you with any bias toward Mr. Hernandez because he played for the better team?’’ Locke asked the woman.
“No,’’ she said with a smile.
During a later pretrial hearing, Locke ruled that jurors will be able to hear during the trial that the star prosecution witness, Alexander Bradley, shot up a nightclub in Hartford in 2014. He is serving a five-year prison term in Connecticut for that offense. Prosecutors claim Bradley was with Hernandez during the double murder in Boston.
Hernandez is already serving a life sentence for the June 2013 fatal shooting of Odin Lloyd, 27, of Dorchester.
Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.
