Newspaper's Courtroom Pic Leads to Mistrial

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The picture that prompted a mistrial was posted on Twitter.

Live-tweeting from court has become a popular way to keep readers in the loop with what’s happening during court cases.

But, a Kansas murder trial was declared a mistrial because of a tweeted photo, Jim Romenesko reported.

As Romenesko explained, a juror was identifiable in a Topeka Capital-Journal tweeted photo of the courtroom.

According to Romenesko, the newspaper’s publisher Gregg Ireland said in part that the newspaper “regrets the error and the loss of the court’s time” and that the newspaper “will use this as a training opportunity for our staff members as they strive to bring information to our readers in digital and print media.”

The Associated Press reported that the Shawnee County, Kansas district attorney’s office spokesperson, Lee McGowan, said about the incident:

“One of the photos apparently showed one or more of the jurors. It was brought to the court’s attention and ultimately a mistrial was declared.”

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Topeka Capital-Journal’s Courtroom Pic Leads to Mistrial

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