HOUSTON, Texas — It's been two weeks since we first reported a mistrial in alleged wife killer Itani Mellini’s case.
His attorneys were back in court on Thursday.
Editor's note: The videos attached to this story are from KHOU 11's previous coverage of this story.
A new trial date was set for September while they work on something in the meantime.
"We want a dismissal on the grounds of double jeopardy,” said defense attorney Sean Buckley.
The double jeopardy clause generally protects people from retrial for the same crime after a conviction or acquittal.
But Mellini’s team believes his mistrial, which they said was the result of misconduct by District Clerk Marilyn Burgess’s office, may also qualify.
"It’s a, in my view, just a grotesque example of total incompetence and political corruption,” said Buckley.
At issue is a “Jury Appreciation Week” event organized by the clerk’s office and held in the jury assembly plaza before the trial began.
"Our understanding, through the courts who investigated this matter, is that everybody on our jury heard this presentation,” said Buckley.
The event, which the clerk’s office shared about on social media, included comments from law enforcement, judges and at least two TV reporters, neither of whom work for KHOU 11.
The Texans cheerleaders even showed up.
But video since-deleted showed speeches encouraging jurors to help find justice for victims’ families with no obvious mention of defendant rights.
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"If somebody believes they haven’t done anything wrong, then why do they go around deleting stuff?” asked Buckley.
Burgess’s office had no new comment because it's a pending matter but previously issued this statement:
"Jury Appreciation Week is a nationally recognized event that has been held by the Harris County District Clerk’s Office since 2009.
"The purpose of Jury Appreciation Week is to honor jurors and tell them how important their participation is in the American justice system.
"Guest speakers invited to Jury Appreciation Week volunteer their time and are solely for inspiration and entertainment. The remarks made by the guest speakers are their own."
Judge Te’iva Bell, who declared a mistrial after learning about the jury appreciation event, apologized in court Thursday on behalf of the system.
She added that she wishes she’d known what happened before going through days of testimony which, like all trials, come at a cost to taxpayers.