Judge bars phones in court during Hudson murder trial

The judge in the trial of a man accused of killing three of Jennifer Hudson’s family members has decided reporters won’t be allowed to use cellphones to email news from court.

A media liaison for Judges Charles Burns says the judge decided there were too many violations of the media rules he set before the high-profile trial of William Balfour started in Chicago.

The rules included a ban on using Twitter in court. But liaison Irv Miller says none of the violations cited involved tweets. Several were phones ringing during testimony.

The judge has eyed journalists closely. He barred one from the courtroom for half a day after spotting her with a pen in the corner of her mouth. He also said she was emailing too frequently. Burns considered that one of the violations.