BATON ROUGE — A judge ruled Thursday that spectators at a trial for Madison Brooks' accused rapist can wear pink in the courtroom.

Judge Gail Ray Horne ruled that, during the trial of 21-year-old Desmond Carter, spectators are allowed to wear pink in support of Brooks' family, but are not allowed to wear shirts or badges with her face on them, and are barred from holding signs with her picture. This is standard for most trials. 

Carter's defense objected to the ruling, but this motion was denied. 

Carter is one of three men accused of raping Brooks in a car hours before she died in January 2023. He faces first-degree and third-degree rape charges.

Ashley Baustert, Brooks' mother, said she was very pleased by the court's decision.

"Wearing the color pink has been exercised by all of her supporters since this brutal crime occurred. It represents Madi and all SA victims. My hope and prayer has always been about justice and we will continue to be peaceful," she said in a statement. 

In June, Carter's defense team put forward a motion to prohibit prejudicial or intimidating spectator displays during the trial. On Monday, the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office asked that the court deny the motion. The defense claimed that Brooks' family and friends have routinely worn pink in support of Brooks, as well as sporting shirts from a non-profit organization created by Brooks' mother in an attempt to intimidate the jury.

Carter's defense attorneys cited the 1966 case Sheppard v. Maxwell, where the Supreme Court held that a defendant's right to a fair trial was violated by the "carnival atmosphere" in the courtroom. They also cited Estes v. State of Texas from 1965, where it was decided that the presence of television cameras in the courtroom deprived the defendant of his due process rights.

Sonya Cardia-Porter with the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office disagreed with the comparison, stating it was a "gross mischaracterization of the facts at hand."

"To analogize the possible presence of silent, passive spectators wearing a particular color to the media-driven circus in Sheppard is not only unpersuasive but also an absurd exaggeration," the court document says.

Carter's trial is set to start on Aug. 17.