The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has sided with the news media, ordering a preliminary injunction to require Idaho to permit full viewing of the upcoming execution of Richard Leavitt, including early stages in which IVs are inserted. "The State of Idaho has had ample opportunity for the past decade to adopt an execution procedure that reflects this settled law," the appellate court wrote, reversing U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge's rejection of a preliminary injunction. "We fault the State, not the media plaintiffs, for our need to consider this question several days before an execution: the State has missed opportunity after opportunity to bring its execution procedures into compliance with the clear law of this circuit." You can read the court's 13-page decision here, and read my full story here at spokesman.com.

The lawsuit was brought by 16 Idaho news outlets and organizations, led by the Associated Press, and also including the Idaho Press Club and The Spokesman-Review.