Judge Colbath is hearing from media personnel as well as attorneys representing the media regarding the issue that occurred earlier today that allowed a jurors order to protect jury members’ names during the live broadcast of the trial. It was suggested that because of a technical glitch, one or more outlets “accidentally did not broadcast” the names of the jurors that were mentioned out loud in the courtroom. This does not necessarily mean the names were not broadcast or published, but regardless, the names were not “bleeped” or silenced, so according to the judge, it is a violation. At this very moment I am looking at
colorbars on the screen, so it is assumed that we will know if the cameras have been barred or not relatively soon. The attorney representing WPTV and WFLX is basically pleading with the judge to continue to allow cameras in the courtroom, but based on his court rule regarding the protection of names, it appears he will take decisive action immediately. Stand by for further updates of this post..
UPDATE: The stream is now back live, and apparently Judge Colbath felt this process was “beating a dead horse”. It seems that his point was made and they will now refer to jurors by numbers. Editor’s note: this will likely be the only opportunity the media has left to “do this properly”.