BOULDER — Lawyers for a man accused of killing his ex-wife 22 years ago asked the judge to consider extending a ban on the use of electronic devices at the murder trial to the Boulder County district attorney himself.
Kristin Johnson, attorney for murder suspect Kevin Elmarr, said at a pre-trial hearing Thursday she was concerned that if Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett sends out messages about the trial via his Twitter account, he could create “audience swell” in the courtroom.
She said Garnett could use the popular social-networking and communications site to announce certain upcoming witnesses and attract a crowd to the courtroom, sending an unintended message to the jury about the importance of that person’s testimony.
But prosecutor Bruce Langer countered that his boss has few people who follow his “tweets” — or posted messages — on Twitter.
“We may be talking about 10 people out there — it’s just not that big a deal,” he said.
Boulder District Judge James Klein agreed with Langer, saying he didn’t have a “big concern” about Garnett posting updates about the trial.
The trial is set to begin July 20. Elmarr, 52, is charged with killing his former wife, Carol Murphy, in 1987 and dumping her body in Left Hand Canyon. He was linked to the crime via DNA two years ago, prosecutors say.
Read more about how Garnett uses Twitter at .
