A judge has ordered a Tennessee reporter removed from his courtroom, saying a clerk had discovered the woman was sending text messages during the trial of a man charged with killing a television station anchorwoman.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza said he considered holding WHBQ reporter Jill Monier in contempt of court, but there was no one to detain her. Except for the trial of Curtis Vance, the courthouse in Little Rock was closed Wednesday.
Piazza told the reporter, “Go back to Memphis and we will see you another time.”
There was no immediate comment from the station.
The judge has allowed cell phones in his courtroom but directed that they remain off. Reporters were asked to call in notes from the trial after they had left his courtroom.
The jury is now in delibrations.