UPDATE: Medical examiner testifies about Love's injuries

Testimony in the George Huguely murder trial this afternoon shifted to the injuries suffered by Yeardley Love, the former girlfriend he is accused of murdering in May 2010.

Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Dr. William Gormley testified for about an hour, telling the Charlottesville Circuit Court jury that Love suffered from a pressure-induced hemorrhage near her carotid artery that could have reduced blood flow to the brain and stopped her heart. He also said that she had a hemorrhage beneath her scalp on right side of her head.

Gormley did not give a specific cause of death, but in opening arguments prosecutors said they would establish that Love died from blunt-force trauma. They've accused Huguely, who has pleaded not guilty, of slamming her against a wall in a drunken rage. Both were members of the University of Virginia lacrosse teams.

Earlier testimony focused on injuries suffered by Huguely, as prosecutors pursued their argument that he was involved in a violent encounter that turned deadly.

Gormley detailed bruises and hemorrhages across Love's body, and some jurors had to turn away when prosecutors displayed on a large screen the autopsy photographs that illustrated the medical examiner's comments. Huguely also averted his eyes from time to time during the testimony.

The display was not visible to spectators or news reporters because of the Charlottesville courtroom's configuration in which witnesses face the jury but away from public seating.

That problem in the trial's logistics was the subject of a request by a lawyer for news organizations that was rejected earlier in the day by Circuit Judge Theodore Hogshire.

Hogshire said the trial will proceed despite complaints that hundreds of key exhibits and videos being shown to jurors but that cannot be seen by the public have created "a partially closed trial in violation of the First Amendment."

Hogshire said that acoustical difficulties and the inability of the public to view exhibits in the Charlottesville courtroom have been problems for decades. The judge said he would not interrupt the proceedings or the progress of the trial, which started last week and could conclude late this week.

Attorney Robert Yates, representing Gannett Co. Inc. and The Washington Post, said he would appeal the decision immediately to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Commonwealth's Attorney David Chapman objected to the motion, saying that it comes too late in the proceedings. "It is way late and way short to be raising this issue," he said.

(This has been a breaking news update. Check back for more details as they become available. Read more in tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.)