COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho - Jury selection in the triple murder trial of Joseph Edward Duncan III will be closed to the public and news media to ensure the registered sex offender gets a fair trial, a judge ruled Friday.

The case has drawn so much attention in the past 15 months that Duncan's constitutional right to a fair trial was in danger of being compromised, 1st District Judge Fred Gibler ruled.

"I find the right to a fair trial and an impartial jury outweighs the right of the press to cover voir dire," Gibler said of the method for selecting jurors.

Duncan, 43, who lived in Fargo, N.D., and attended North Dakota State University before his arrest, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of kidnapping in the 2005 slayings of Brenda Groene, her fiance, Mark McKenzie; and Groene's 13-year-old son, Slade. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

After the state case ends, federal prosecutors are expected to file charges against Duncan in the abduction of Brenda Groene's two youngest children, Shasta and Dylan, and the slaying of Dylan.

Court documents allege Duncan, a Tacoma, Wash., native who spent most of his adult life in Washington prisons for sexual crimes against children, committed the slayings so he could kidnap the two children for sex.

Shasta Groene, now 9, was rescued and is expected to be a primary witness against Duncan.

Both prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed that the jury selection process could be damaged if potential jurors knew that their identities and answers to questions were being broadcast to the public.

Potential jurors might not be truthful in answering some potentially embarrassing questions, the lawyers said.

An unprecedented 800 potential jurors have been summoned for the trial that begins Monday.

Those people filled out extensive questionnaires and will be grilled by lawyers regarding their views on issues such as capital punishment or whether they had been sexually abused and other sensitive matters, public defender John Adams said.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas said that public access to the jury selection was trumped by the greater need for an impartial jury.

Joel Hazel, a lawyer representing The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash., argued that the First Amendment guaranteed the press and public access to all portions of a criminal trial.

"I have faith jurors will honestly answer questions in open court," Hazel said, calling fears that they might not be candid "speculation."

Hazel said the public was very interested in the case, and had a constitutional right to see how the legal system worked.

But Gibler ruled against the newspaper and said transcripts of jury selection proceedings would be made available to the news media and public after a jury has been selected.

"A fair trial is paramount in these decisions," Gibler said.

He rejected a suggestion that reporters and the public be allowed to watch jury selection via closed circuit television in an adjacent room. He worried that people called to jury duty would come to watch the questioning of other potential jurors, and might tailor their answers based on what they saw.

"There is a compelling need to have jurors respond to all questions with candor," Gibler said.

Hazel said afterward that he would consult with his client about a possible appeal.

On Thursday, Gibler issued a gag order for attorneys, court officials and others involved in the case. He was upset about leaks and comments to the news media.