FILE - In this Aug. 14, 2018, file photo, Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, right, walks into the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago. A court hearing is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, after attorneys prosecuting the Van Dyke in the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald say the officer's recent newspaper interview violates a court order not to discuss the case. Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday asking that officer Jason Van Dyke be taken into custody or that his bail be increased.((Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP, File) /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
The Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) - A judge has declined to immediately decide whether a Chicago police officer charged with murder in the 2014 shooting death of black teenager Laquan McDonald should have his bail revoked or increased because he talked to the media .
Judge Vincent Gaughan held a hearing Saturday and told both sides to return to court Thursday.
Jason Van Dyke gave interviews just days before jury selection is set to begin Wednesday. Prosecutors accused Van Dyke of violating the judge's longstanding order prohibiting all parties from talking about the case outside of court.
Defense attorney Daniel Herbert says Van Dyke has free-speech rights. He says Van Dyke feels threatened and is "scared to death" that the public won't know his "personal feelings" about being charged with murder.
Van Dyke spent six nights in custody before being released on $1.5 million bond in November 2015.
FILE - In this Oct. 20, 2014 file image taken from dash-cam video provided by the Chicago Police Department, Laquan McDonald, right, walks down the street moments before being fatally shot by Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago. A court hearing is scheduled Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, after attorneys prosecuting the Chicago police officer in the 2014 shooting death of McDonald say the officer's recent newspaper interview violates a court order not to discuss the case. Prosecutors filed a motion Thursday asking that officer Jason Van Dyke be taken into custody or that his bail be increased.(Chicago Police Department via AP, File)
The Associated Press