A woman who identified herself to The Enquirer as an independent journalist from Philadelphia and who was accused of videorecording a prospective juror for the Rodney Hinton Jr. trial was found in contempt court and banned from the courtroom on Oct. 8.
The woman, Sherell Fuller, attended the first two days of jury selection and on Oct. 6, according to testimony, videorecorded a prospective juror who ultimately was not selected for the final jury.
The video, which was posted on YouTube, was public for at least part of the day on Oct. 6, but was made private later the same day. It was described by Assistant Prosecutor Kip Guinan, one of the prosecutors on the Hinton trial, who testified about it on Oct. 8.
The YouTube account is called Black File
Investigations.
According to Guinan, in the "selfie" video, Fuller could be seen walking around the Hamilton County Courthouse. About 10 minutes into the video, Fuller stopped "mid-sentence" and said, "That's one of them now − that's one of the jurors."
Guinan said Fuller held the phone so that the prospective juror, a Black woman, could be seen in the distance. Fuller did not approach the woman.
According to Guinan, Fuller expressed frustration that Black jurors were "trying to get kicked off the trial" and said in the video, "We got to keep you people on."
On the morning of Oct. 6, Common Pleas Judge Jody Luebbers, who is overseeing the trial, had questioned Fuller in the courtroom after deputies raised concerns that Fuller had been wearing glasses in the courtroom that can capture video and audio.
At that time, Luebbers told Fuller that videorecording jurors and potential jurors was not allowed.
In finding Fuller in contempt, Luebbers said she wanted "to preserve the sanctity of the criminal justice system" and ensure the safety of jurors as well as anyone being considered for a jury.
Fuller told The Enquirer on Oct. 6 that she was at the courthouse to support Hinton. She said she works with a partner and that Black File Investigations posts "recycled news."
Testimony in the trial is continuing on Oct. 8.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Woman who filmed prospective juror in Rodney Hinton trial found in contempt
