Attorneys for news organizations filed a motion Thursday asking a judge to reconsider his ban of cameras in his Johnson County courtroom during the serial murder trial of John E. Robinson Sr.

The motion asks District Judge John Anderson III to reverse his Aug. 23 order prohibiting the use of video or still cameras during the trial, which is scheduled to begin Sept. 16.

The reversal is sought by The Kansas City Star and television stations WDAF, KCTV and KSHB. A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 5 in district court in Olathe.

Robinson, 58, is charged in Johnson County in the deaths of three women: Suzette Trouten and Izabela Lewicka, whose bodies were found in barrels on land he owned in Linn County, and Lisa Stasi, who disappeared in 1985.

During a March 28 hearing, Anderson placed the ban on cameras and other recording devices. He continued that prohibition for the trial in an order issued Aug. 23.

“Since that time, the court has observed that the process has operated more smoothly and more efficiently without the distraction of the cameras,” Anderson wrote.

Bernard Rhodes, attorney for the news organizations, countered in his motion that Anderson’s order squeezes the right of the public’s access to the trial.

Anderson issued a ruling on Wednesday that jurors would be sequestered for the duration of the trial.