Hustler magazine has won the first round of a lawsuit filed by the estate of Nancy Benoit, which failed to prevent publication of nude photographs of the slain wife of former professional wrestler Chris Benoit.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Thrash on Friday denied Maureen Toffoloni's request for a temporary restraining order against publication of her daughter's pictures taken by photographer Mark Samansky 25 years ago.

Thrash based his decision on First Amendment rights that provide for freedom of expression. He cited the substantial volume of publicity and media attention surrounding the Benoit tragedy in saying Hustler magazine deserved that protection.

His ruling was essentially moot; Hustler's March issue has already been published and disseminated to the public.

"We think it's a good result," said S. Derek Bauer, the Atlanta attorney for LFP Publishing Group, which publishes Hustler. "You can't unpublish speech already published. You can't unring the bell."

Toffoloni, who lives in Daytona Beach, Fla., could not be reached. Rick Decker, her Atlanta attorney, declined to comment through a spokeswoman Friday afternoon.

The legal tussle involving the photos is the latest development since Chris Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son before taking his own life at the family's Fayetteville home in June.

The request for the restraining order was the first effort in a lawsuit filed by Toffoloni, administrator of Nancy Benoit's estate, against the magazine and Samansky.

The suit, which calls for unspecified damages including legal fees and litigation costs, was filed in Fayette County Superior Court earlier this week but was moved to U.S. District Court because the case involved a constitutional issue.

The suit contends that Nancy Benoit, who was married to James Daus from 1981 to 1986, never gave permission for the photos to be used for a "pornographic" magazine whose content includes "graphic and sexual photographs of nude women."

Daus testified in an affidavit that he was present when his wife, then an aspiring model, posed for still photographs and a videotape in the summer of 1983.

"Neither Nancy nor I ever gave Mr. Samansky permission to use the photographs or any videotape in any way," he said, adding that he and Nancy had been assured all the images had been destroyed.