BATON ROUGE — On Tuesday, a Judge will decide if spectators in the Madison Brooks trial will be banned from wearing pink in the courtroom. 

Desmond Carter, 21, is one of three men accused of raping Madison Brooks in a vehicle before her death. He currently faces charges of first-degree and third-degree rape. 

In June, Carter's defense team put forward a motion to prohibit prejudicial or intimidating spectator displays during the trial. On Monday, Sonya Cardia-Porter with the East Baton Rouge District Attorney's Office asked the court to 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 team 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 the 1965 case of Estes v. State of Texas, where it was decided that the presence of television cameras in the courtroom deprived the defendant of his due process rights. 

Cardia-Porter 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 defense claimed that Brooks' family and friends have consistently demonstrated their intent to bring the case in which the State seeks to convict Carter to die in prison into the court of public opinion and influence jurors. 

The defense also cited several social media posts of family and friends asking people to attend court sessions wearing the color pink in support of Brooks.

In the document, Cardia-Porter argues the "defendant's exhibits demonstrate victim advocacy rather than a plot to intimidate a jury." 

Cardia-Porter also requested the Court instruct the jury that they are to "disregard any attire or display from spectators." 

The hearing to decide this motion is Tuesday, Aug. 4. The trial for Desmond Carter is set to go before Judge Gail Ray on Aug. 17.