Third District Judge Richard Mrazik made a surprise announcement at the end of the fourth day of the Kouri Richins murder trial Feb. 26.
“During an afternoon recess, a juror passed a note to one of the bailiffs that read, ‘Judge … are there members of the audience in the courtroom that are sketching members of the jury? Is that allowed without consent? It is distracting and a concern. Please advise,’” Mrazik read aloud.
Jurors are generally siloed from other parties in a case, including the judge.
No one is allowed to photograph or videotape the jury. Jurors are barred from speaking about the case until after the trial is done.
So before court resumed, court security removed the spectator who had been sketching jurors and she will not be allowed back to watch the trial in person. Mrazik said they took her sketch book and removed the drawings.
“Then the jurors were informed by a bailiff, not by me, that we responded in that way so they do not have to speculate about whether that's continuing,” the judge added.
Kouri Richins is a Kamas-area mother who wrote a book about grieving her husband before being charged with his murder.
The case has garnered widespread media attention, prompting extra security and logistical planning at the Summit County Justice Center for the five-week trial.
According to the judge’s latest decorum order, members of the public lined up as early as 5 a.m. on the first day of the trial to get a seat inside.
The sketch artist was not the only spectator to be kicked out, but in other instances it was because an audience member used or did not have their phone on silent.
The trial is scheduled to last until March 27, 2026.
