'Oh, shoot, I'm still streaming,' judge says, after telling staffer 'we all know' murder defendant is guilty
A Texas judge recused herself in two cases involving a murder defendant Wednesday, after she was caught on a hot mic outside the presence of jurors. (Image from Shutterstock)
A Texas judge recused herself in two cases involving a murder defendant Wednesday, after she was caught on a hot mic outside the presence of jurors saying he had killed the victim to show a woman that “he’s a man.”
Judge Nancy Mulder of Dallas County, Texas, declared a mistrial in the murder case against Jorge Esparza and apologized to Esparza’s lawyers, she told the Dallas Morning News.
“I deeply regret the comments I made during what I believed was a private conversation with court staff in an empty courtroom,” she told the Dallas Morning News.
Mulder is a Democrat running to be a judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Esparza was accused of killing Ricardo Medina-Madriz in 2020, the night of the victim’s first date with a woman Esparza was accused of stalking.
Mulder regularly livestreams trials, according to the Dallas Morning News. During the trial Tuesday, Esparza’s lawyer said his client was having a likely panic attack, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth had reported.
After jurors and lawyers left the courtroom Tuesday, an unidentified man told Mulder that he thought that Esparza should go on suicide watch.
The Dallas Morning News recounted the conversation that followed.
Mulder said she thought that Esparza was upset because he got caught.
“I think he’s crying for himself because he knows he’s going to prison for a long time,” she said.
The unidentified man said Esparza committed murder for no reason. Mulder disagreed.
“He wanted to show her he’s a man,” she said.
Mulder also said she was frustrated because lawyers were not following procedure for admitting evidence.
“We all know he’s going to get convicted and get a bunch of time, but that doesn’t mean you can just phone it in. You’ve got to follow the steps,” she said.
The last words on the livestream were from Mulder.
“Oh, shoot, I’m still streaming,” she said.
