- Alex Jones' defense attorney called for a mistrial in his Sandy Hook defamation damages trial.
- The lawyer made the motion after it was revealed that the contents of Jones' cell phone were accidentally sent to opposing counsel.
Alex Jones' defense attorney called for a mistrial in his client's Sandy Hook defamation damages trial on Thursday, in the latest fallout from their side's own bungling of evidence — a cache of the far-right conspiracy theorist's private text messages that were accidentally sent to opposing counsel.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble turned down the request by Jones' lawyer, F. Andino Reynal, in open court in Travis County, Texas, as the jury in the civil case continued deliberations behind closed doors.
The plaintiffs, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was killed in the 2012 school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, are seeking $150 million in defamation damages from Jones, the founder of Infowars, and his media company Free Speech Systems.
Thursday's mistrial demand came one day after it was revealed that Jones' attorney's inadvertently sent the contents of Jones' phone going back two years to the family's lawyers. The phone contents included text messages discussing Infowars' denial-laden coverage of the massacre.
The texts should should have been turned over at least half a year ago, argued Mark Bankston, a lawyer for Heslin and Lewis.
Bankston called Jones' lawyer's motion for a mistrial a "fig leaf over his own malpractice, over his own absolute breach of his duties to his own client."
The plaintiff lawyer also told the judge that there was nothing mistrial-worthy about Jones getting questioned on the stand about the phone contents on Wednesday.
"You know what perjury is, right?" Bankston had said in court Wednesday as he confronted Jones for having claimed, during a taped deposition, that he did not have messages relating to Sandy Hook on his phone.
"Jones was merely questioned about facts, and whether he understood those facts," Bankston told the judge on Thursday.
"I don't think it's a mistrial based on this," the judge concluded.
Reynal also filed for an emergency motion to protect the phone contents from being shared with other Sandy Hook families who have sued Jones.
"We are very concerned about the records that have been disclosed, particularly the medical records," Reynal told Gamble as he asked that the plaintiff attorneys "return" all documents and "destroy" any they have.
Those requests, too, fell flat.
The judge did not oppose the Sandy Hook parents' lawyer after he told her, "There is a sharing provision" with the other families, "so I'm allowed to give it to them."