It’s no surprise really … just came sooner than I thought. Sure wish I could be the Twitter bird in Judge Marten’s courtroom.
There’s a trial going on in Wichita, Kansas and the judge let Ron Sylvester, a reporter for the Wichita Eagle, use Twitter to update folks on what’s going on in a racketeering case. The reporter has been doing this for about a year, but not in a federal courtroom — aaand not in a criminal trial.
A couple of the lawyers are whinin’ about it, said a juror might take a looksee at the online site. The judge declared that jurors are warned to avoid newspapers, broadcasts, etc.
“You either trust your jurors to live with the admonishment or you don’t,” he said.
Here are some of Sylvester’s tweets:
- Judge Marten is talking to reluctant witness in chambers with a court reporter
transcribing conversation - The witness who was yelling in the hallway earlier has not returned to the courthouse
- Defendants are chatting and laughing among themselves
- Exhibits are shown electronically. Every juror has a monitor in the box. There is a monitor at each lawyer’s table and one for the gallery.
May Your Glass Always Be Half Full
Be Featured on All About People – leave your story at: maxi.malone@gmail.com
Read chapter one of Over The Edge at: maximalone.com
