Massei barred cameras from filming, but ruled the trial would remain open to print journalists
- although some sessions could be closed. The next session was scheduled for Feb. 6.
The ruling was one of several technical issues ironed out at the start of the trial of Knox, 21, from Seattle, and Raffaele Sollecito, 24.
Both are charged with murder and sexual violence in the slaying of Kercher, who was found stabbed to death Nov. 2, 2007 in the apartment she shared with Knox in Perugia, 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of Rome where both were exchange students.
Both Knox and Sollecito deny any wrongdoing.
Knox appeared relaxed during the hearing, smiling often and chatting with her interpreter and guards during breaks. Wearing jeans and a hooded sweat shirt over a striped shirt, she sat next to her lawyers
- not in the cages often used for defendants in Italian trials.
Sollecito, in beige trousers and a bright green sweater, looked tense and remained mostly quiet throughout the hearing. The two did not interact.
A third defendant, Ivory Coast national Rudy Hermann Guede, was convicted last year of the same charges and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Guede, who had also denied wrongdoing, underwent a fast-track trial at his request.
Prosecutors allege that Kercher was killed during what began as a sex game, with Sollecito holding her by the shoulders from behind while Knox touched her with the point of a knife. They say Guede tried to sexually assault Kercher, and then Knox fatally stabbed her in the throat.
"Justice has already been done with the conviction of the one person responsible, to 30-years in jail," Sollecito attorney Luca Maori told the court, referring to Guede.
Sollecito has maintained he was in his own apartment in Perugia and that he doesn't remember if Knox spent part or all the night of the murder with him. Knox initially told investigators she was in the house when Kercher was killed and covered her ears against the victim's screams. Later, Knox said she wasn't in the house.
