Georgia- In a courtroom shocker, Larry Flynt’s Hustler magazine has won the first round of a lawsuit filed by the estate of Nancy Benoit, which attempted to prevent publication of nude photographs of the murdered wife of Chris Benoit.

Wrestling News Desk.com is reporting that U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Thrash denied Maureen Toffoloni (Nancy’s mother)’s request for a temporary restraining order against publication of Nancy’s pictures taken by radio disc jockey Mark Samansky 25 years ago.

Citing the First Amendment,Judge Thrash noted the substantial volume of publicity and media attention surrounding the Benoit tragedy in saying Hustler magazine deserved the protection afforded by Freedom of Expression.

S. Derek Bauer, Hustler’s Atlanta attorney, stated, “You can’t unpublish speech already published. You can’t unring the bell.” The request for the restraining order was the first effort in a lawsuit filed by Nancy’s mother, who is the administrator of Nancy’s estate, against the magazine and Samansky.

The lawsuit, which calls for unspecified damages including legal fees and litigation costs, was filed in Fayette County (Georgia) Superior Court earlier this week but was moved to U.S. District Court because of the fact that the case involved a Constitutional issue.

Wrestling News Desk.Com has more here. The suit alleges that Nancy, who was married to Jim Daus from 1981 to 1986, never gave permission for the pictures to be used for what is described in the suit as a “pornographic” magazine whose content includes “graphic and sexual photographs of nude women.”

Jim Daus testified in an affidavit that he was present when his then-wife Nancy, who was then an aspiring model at the time, posed for pictures and a videotape in the summer of 1983. Daus said he and Nancy had been assured all the images had been destroyed. Daus exclaimed, “Neither Nancy nor I ever gave Mr. Samansky permission to use the photographs or any videotape in any way.”