A judge loosened but did not overturn her gag order in the Tara Grinstead murder case Friday.

The newest gag order releases Grinstead’s family, the family of the accused, Ryan Duke, and any potential witnesses — all people who were included in the original gag order — to speak about the case, according to court documents published by WALB.

The order still restricts statements from current and past law enforcement personnel involved in the case, attorneys on both sides and court staff. The court also added Bo Dukes, who is also facing charges in connection with the case, and his attorneys to the new gag order.

In her ruling, Irwin County Superior Court Judge Melanie Cross clarified that those bound by the gag order could still give basic information on the case, such as Duke’s occupation, the time and place of his arrest, the scheduling and results of court proceedings, and any information that is part of public record.

Friday’s ruling grants only a partial victory to numerous media outlets, including The Valdosta Daily Times, that had taken legal action to try to get the original gag order overturned completely. The media argued the order was far too broad and represented the court overstepping its bounds.

Cross said in her ruling that she had issued the initial gag order “to stop the feeding frenzy that was occurring with regard to the Defendant’s arrest and to attempt to preserve his right to a fair trial.”

Cross went on to say that because “a jury’s verdict is to be based upon the evidence received in the courtroom in open court (and) not from outside sources,” a gag order was still necessary.

“Pre-trial publicity has a powerful impact on prospective jurors,” Cross wrote.“This unusually high profile case dictates that this Court exercise its duty and use its power to protect the due process rights and right to a fair trial of (Duke) in the face of such pervasive pretrial publicity.

“The Court wishes to achieve this with the least restrictive order possible.”

In their challenge of the initial gag order, news organizations, including The Times, its sister papers the Tifton Gazette and Moultrie Observer, along with The Telegraph (Macon), WSB and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, had argued there were better alternatives to the gag order, such as changing the trial’s venue or sequestering the jury.

But Cross ruled those alternatives were “not adequate” to protect Duke’s right to a fair trial. Quoting a 1966 court case, Cross said the court “must take strong measures to ensure that the balance is never weighed against the accused.”

Grinstead vanished from her hometown of Ocilla in 2005, and the case was cold for more than 11 years. As time passed, hundreds of leads poured in, and her disappearance became the largest case file in Georgia history.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Ryan Duke at the end of February, saying it had enough probable cause to charge him with Grinstead’s murder. A week later, Bo Dukes was arrested and charged with helping to concealing Grinstead’s body.