News Archives

Terry Sullivan will be on WGN at noon to discuss the recent activity in the Balfour case.

The Balfour case started on Monday, but today proved to be an interesting day as both sides in the trial showed their cards in how they would be pursuing the case. Make sure to watch Terry Sullivan on WGN as he offers his analysis of the case.

Judge Burns in the Balfour case is not allowing any social media in the courtroom because it could prove too much of a distraction especially for the jurors who might be disrupted by individuals constantly on their phones. According to Irv Miller, "The way things are usually done out here is that no telephones are allowed in the courtroom at all. Typically, deputies will either confiscate a phone if a reporter uses one in the courtroom or make the reporter leave. But Burns' written decorum order for news media says that 'limited and discrete e-mails will be permitted subject to the court's discretion.' This was a compromise suggested by a Chicago Tribute reporter to allow reporters in the courtroom to contact their editors or broadcast reporters contact their co-workers via e-mail." Judge Burns ' actions could be viewed as maintaining a sense of decorum for the courtroom and ensuring that this trial does not turn into a circus.

The majority of the jury has been selected for the Balfour trial, but some in the legal community offer their opinion that it's hard to find a jury member who will be completely impassive during a high profile case like this. Most jury members stated that they could put aside their previous knowledge of the case and of Jennifer Hudson, but given her local popularity along with the brutal facts of the case, that's not much stock behind that. When it comes to picking for jury selection, most attorneys follow the potentials in their body language instead of their words and look for people who will be open to listen to the attorney's arguments. The final 4 jury members will be chosen on Tuesday with trial starting April 26, 2012.

In court today, the jury selection process started for the Balfour murder trial which is more widely recognized as the Jennifer Hudson family murder trial. Back in October 2008, James Balfour murdered Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother, and 7 year old nephew. Prior to those events, he made numerous threats against his wife, Jennifer Hudson's sister, that he would make her suffer "if she ever left him." The trial is set to begin April 23, 2012.