Days after a lengthy 60 Minutes piece on the death of Terence Crutcher aired nationwide, the judge overseeing Tulsa police officer Betty Jo Shelby’s manslaughter trial in the case has ordered Shelby and her lawyers to tighten up their public conduct.
Judge Doug Drummond had previously reminded all parties to the case to follow the Oklahoma Rules of Professional Conduct regarding pre-trial publicity.
But that initial note, in a private letter sent shortly after Shelby was charged, didn’t carry the same force or ominous overtones of Thursday night’s court order. With the trial set to open in Drummond’s courtroom just a few weeks from now, he is taking a sterner line.
“The letter…respectfully requested the attorneys to be ‘cognizant’ of” the state’s code regarding public statements, Drummond wrote, but “it did not resolve the issue.”
“The obligation to ensure a fair trial is not limited only to courts. Attorneys and parties to a criminal proceeding have ‘unique responsibilities’ in assuring that pretrial publicity does not prejudice the Defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights or the State’s right to a fair trial,” Drummond added.
Shelby’s appearance last Sunday on 60 Minutes is “of particular concern,” the order says.
The 60 Minutes piece was heavily weighted in favor of Shelby’s version of events on the Friday evening last September when she shot and killed Crutcher as he stood, hands apparently up, next to his idling SUV.
Shelby’s attorneys may have sought to inject her own voice, face, and certainty she did nothing wrong into the minds of potential jurors without facing the risks inherent in putting a defendant on the stand for cross-examination, as multiple legal experts previously told ThinkProgress.
Drummond has not issued a formal gag order barring lawyers from talking to the press at all. Indeed, Thursday’s order details the exact contours of the state’s rules about such publicity. Lawyers are allowed to respond to smears, but barred from saying anything that would prejudice a jury, publicize information that won’t be admissible in court, or tarnish the character or reputation of any parties to the case.
Drummond’s formal reprimand to Shelby and the attorneys in the case may not be his only response to the potential tainting of the jury selection process.
In a footnote to the order, the judge adds that he may take additional actions such as changing the rules and standards for jury selection — or even delaying the trial from its current scheduled start on May 8.
In the meantime, the parties will meet next Friday for a motions hearing. If the prosecution is going to seek access to all footage shot for the 60 Minutes piece, including any moments which did not make it to air, that hearing may be their best shot.