Sinclair-owned Nebraska station KHGI (NTV) is being blamed for causing a mistrial in a Kansas murder trial after it aired footage of people waiting to be chosen as jurors.
“We sent a reporter to cover the important case,” said the Kearney ABC affiliate. “A court official showed our reporter where it would be okay to stand.”
Kansas prohibits photographs or video of jurors.
“Unfortunately, we did not know there were potential jurors in that location, which we then showed in video that aired Monday,” it said. “Had we known jurors were in the hall, NTV would not have filmed or aired the video.”
A Norton County judge declared a mistrial in the case of Bobby Tallent, who is facing multiple charges including first-degree murder. He’s also accused of firing on police officers and leading them on a chase after stealing a vehicle.
“Due to the degree of prejudice resulting to the fair selection of an impartial jury it is not possible to continue and a mistrial is necessary,” said the judge.
