Amber Guyger Appears In Court Thursday; Judge Gives Stern Reminder Of Gag Order After 911 Call Leak
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Former Dallas officer Amber Guyger, who was indicted in the shooting death of Botham Jean, appeared in court Thursday morning, and it appears the judge has set a trial date.
State District Judge Tammy Kemp and the attorneys decided Thursday to begin interviewing jurors for Amber Guyger's trial on Sept. 6, one year after 26-year-old Botham Jean's death. Testimony begins Sept. 23.
Judge Kemp also made sure to give a stern reminder about honoring the court's gag order after the 911 call made by Guyger the night of Jean's death was leaked. The leaked tape caused quite a stir in the legal world.
The judge called Wednesday's hearing to ask attorneys on both sides of the case if they've learned any information about who may have leaked the 911 call.
Guyger claims she thought the Jean was a burglar in her Dallas apartment when she shot him. In the 911 call, Guyger could be heard repeating "I thought it was my apartment" and also worrying about losing her job.
She was later fired by the Dallas Police Department.
The attorney for Jean's family was at the hearing and spoke about why they believe the audio was leaked.
"We want this case to be tried in Dallas County, and the frustrating part right now is we feel that, strategically, people are leaking this type of information now a couple of months before the trial for the mere purpose of trying to taint the jury pool," attorney Daryl Washington said.
September 6 is also the one-year anniversary of the deadly shooting.