Photographer says she won’t willingly release the photos taken on the day of Aaron O’Neal’s death.
A circuit court judge ruled Thursday that he will wait to see the results of a Monday deposition before deciding whether to order Columbia Daily Tribune photographer Jenna Isaacson to turn over 622 photographs requested by attorneys in the Aaron O’Neal wrongful death lawsuit.
On Monday, lawyers representing O’Neal’s father, Lonnie O’Neal, and MU requested the images, including 18 the Tribune published on its Web site. Some of the photos show O’Neal collapsed on the field and teammates’ and staff’s reaction at a preseason workout about an hour before his death on July 12.
“If I do this, then this opens up a whole can of worms, and all my peers, including reporters, could be asked to turn over notes,” Isaacson said.
The deposition that Isaacson is scheduled to give Monday will give her the opportunity to go on record about why she has chosen not to relinquish the photos.
If Isaacson refuses to comply with the request for photos at her deposition, Circuit Court Judge Gary Oxenhandler said, the court will reconsider whether the Tribune should be ordered to hand over the photos.
Isaacson said she won’t turn over the photos unless ordered to do so by the court.
“How would someone I photograph feel if I went into their home, for example, knowing that those images could be used as evidence against them in a civil case in the future,” Isaacson said.
Backing her assertion is Tribune attorney Jean Maneke, who argued that unpublished photos are protected by legal precedent and the First Amendment. Maneke filed a motion on March 24 to quash the subpoena along with a request for the court to issue a protective order against further subpoenas for the images.
Both Chris Bauman, representing Lonnie O’Neal, and MU attorney Hamp Ford told Oxenhandler that the photos are relevant to the case. They argue that Isaacson had made the photos public property by discussing them in the Tribune and other publications.
Isaacson was photographing a preseason strength and conditioning workout supervised by trainers and coaches when O’Neal started struggling and then collapsed on July 12. After a trainer took O’Neal to Tom Taylor Athletic Complex, his pulse weakened and he became unconscious, according to an MU Police report.
Unable to revive O’Neal, trainers called 911 and he was taken to University Hospital, where he died at 4:05 p.m. the same day.
Boone County Medical Examiner Valerie Rao cited viral meningitis as the cause of death.
Bob Blitz filed the $350,000 wrongful death suit on behalf of Lonnie O’Neal on Aug. 24.
Fourteen MU employees, including athletic director Mike Alden and football coach Gary Pinkel, are listed as defendants.