CINCINNATI — UPDATE @ 12:50 p.m. (Dec. 14)
The judge in Ray Tensing’s retrial has issued a gag order in the case.
Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Leslie Ghiz signed an order Wednesday barring the defense and prosecution teams from talking about the case with media.
“In light of the unprecedented and extensive media coverage in the … case, this protective order is intended to prevent media coverage of statements that might unfairly influence the potential jury pool and the outcome of the case,” her order states.
Last month, jurors couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on either charge filed against the former University of Cincinnati police officer — murder and voluntary manslaughter — for killing motorist Sam DuBose during a traffic stop in July 2015.
Judge Megan Shanahan declared a hung jury and a mistrial.
Prosecutor Joe Deters said issues of race, DuBose’s criminal background and lifestyle (he had 13 kids by at least seven women) “absolutely crept into the jury room” even though Shanahan banned testimony about DuBose’s criminal and health records.
He suggested he might seek to move the trial elsewhere — perhaps Cleveland or Columbus — to improve the chance of finding jurors who haven’t been exposed to the deluge of media coverage the case has received here.
But for now, the retrial is still set to be held in Hamilton County beginning May 25, 2017.
— Our partners at WCPO contributed this story
UPDATE @ 10:39 a.m. (Dec. 12):
The second trial date for Ray Tensing has been scheduled for May 2017.
According to our partners at WCPO, Tensing will go on trial on May 25 and the case will remain in Hamilton County.
UPDATE @1 p.m. Nov. 28
Hamilton County Judge Megan Shanahan agreed to release the jurors’ questionaires with their names and addresses, but other personal identification would be redacted, according to a report from WCPO-9, our news partners in Cincinnati.
In her decision, Shanahan said the jurors’ concerns over their personal safety superceded the public’s right to the complete questionaires, according to WCPO’s report.
The questionaires are to be released Tuesday afternoon.
In addition, a new judge is to be appointed as Shanahan recused herself from the second trial.
Prosecutor Joe Deters has requested the second trial be held in a different county in an effort to reach an unbiased jury pool.
UPDATE @9:22 a.m. Nov. 28
A pre-trial hearing is being held today in Hamilton County to determine whether a change of venue will be granted in the retrial of Ray Tensing.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is pursuing a second trial of Tensing, the ex-University of Cincinnati police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black motorist in July 2015.
The jury in the original trial could not reach a unanimous decision for a verdict on either voluntary manslaughter or murder.
Deters has said he plans to request a change of venue in the case.
EARLIER
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said this morning that he plans to request a change of venue for a new trial for Ray Tensing, the ex-University of Cincinnati officer accused of murder.
Tensing's initial trial came to an end earlier this month after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in the case.
Tensing was fired after shooting 43-year-old Sam DuBose in the head after pulling him over for a missing front license plate on July 19, 2015.
“Our belief is that the public attention focused on the Tensing case could have seeped into the jury room,” Deters said.
Deters said he will meet with Hamilton County Judge Megan Shanahan on Monday to discuss the logistics of moving the case. He said there were discussions in the jury room about the penalty as well as sympathy for the defendant.
“We’ll alleviate that by moving the case,” said Deters, noting Tensing’s defense doesn’t want to move it because there was a “hung jury here.”
“It’s very hard to find an impartial jury,” he added. “But nonetheless, I’m optimistic we’ll be able to move this thing.”
Deters said Cleveland or Columbus would likely be where the new trial would take place. He hopes a new trial would be no later than the spring.
“It’s an entirely different scenario,” Deters said. “Jurors won’t care. They don’t live in Cincinnati. … I know it’s gotten national attention, but not like here.”
Deters said that during the initial trial, jurors wouldn’t even come out of the jury room, fearing that their identities would be revealed.
“It’s really difficult for lay people to deal with,” Deters said. “When you see people protesting daily — people one way or another demanding some type of verdict — that puts pressure on people.”
It is not known how much it has cost up to this point, nor how much it will cost to retry Tensing, Deters said.
“If I thought we couldn’t win this case, we would not retry this case,” Deters said. “We are seeking justice. It’s my belief that Sam DuBose was murdered. Period.”
[ DOWNLOAD OUR FREE NEWS APPS FOR THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS ]