Twitter permitted at Conn. home invasion trial: Defendant wanted tweets banned in Petit murder case
(CBS/AP) NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Twitter will be permitted in the courtroom at the trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky, the second defendant in a deadly 2007 Connecticut home invasion that killed three members of one family.
New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon Blue denied a motion Tuesday by attorneys for Komisarjevsky to ban tweeting at his trial. The judge rejected the defense claim that a broadcasting ban in the case applies to Twitter, too.
Blue said he still can ban Twitter if it becomes disruptive.
Authorities say Komisarjevsky and Steven Hayes killed Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, in a 2007 home invasion in Cheshire, Conn. Hayes is on death row after being convicted and sentenced last year.
Komisarjevsky's attorneys argued that during Hayes' trial, sudden typing of tweets by reporters and spectators signaled to the jury what evidence observers believed was significant.
Jury selection for Komisarjevsky's trial starts March 14.