AUSTIN, Texas — Editor's note: On Thursday, Aug. 15, Judge Karen Sage halted the evidence tampering trial of former Williamson County sheriff Robert Chody and assistant county attorney Jason Nassour. Click here for the latest coverage.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE FROM AUG. 14:
Only one day after former Williamson County Sheriff Robert Chody and Assistant County Attorney Jason Nassour’s evidence tampering trial started, it just about came to a grinding halt.
State prosecutors said because of a pre-trial ruling made by the judge, they would not be able to prove their case with what they have left.
Judge Karen Sage denied their request for an emergency stay of the trial.
How did they get here?
Before the trial started, Judge Sage ruled that the state could not talk about certain evidence in front of the jury. That included talking about who allowed the "Live PD" crews to leave the crime scene with their footage and gear the night of Javier Ambler’s death.
A camera crew was riding along with Williamson County deputies and filming when Ambler died.
Sage said because of the Privacy Protection Act (PPA), Chody and Nassour weren’t allowed to seize the "Live PD" crew’s footage and therefore had to let the crew gather their belongings from the crime scene. The Privacy Protection Act is a federal law that protects journalists and certain documentary material from being seized by law enforcement.
But in court on Wednesday, prosecutors said without being able to talk about Chody and Nassour allowing these crews to leave the crime scene with the footage, they would have no case.
“We cannot prove the case with what we have left,” prosecutor Mike Waldman said.
The defense objected to this, saying that the state has known about the judge’s ruling and the PPA for a long time now.
“I think we should continue this trial, unless they make a motion to dismiss,” Keith Hampton, Nassour’s defense attorney, said.
After denying the state’s request to pause the trial, Sage told them to move further with their other witnesses. She said since there were still several other allegations they alleged in the indictment, they should move forward with that.
State witnesses
Former Williamson County Judge Dan Gattis
The state started the beginning of the day by bringing in Dan Gattis, the former Williamson County judge back in 2018. He held that position during the Jan. 9, 2018 meeting when Chody first talked about the contract for "Live PD" with the commissioner’s court.
A recording of that meeting was played for the court, where Chody talked about the benefits of contracting with Big Fish, the production company for the show. In the meeting, he said doing "Live PD" would help with transparency and building trust with their community.
“How much more transparent can we get by being on live TV?” Chody asked during the Jan. 9, 2018 Williamson County Commissioner’s Court meeting.
Also during that meeting, several commissioners expressed their concerns about liability and the light the show could paint Williamson County. But Chody reassured them.
“I feel completely confident going into this and I consider it a win for Williamson County,” Chody said during the same commissioner's court meeting.
At that time, Chody was working to get the contract brought up again at another meeting, so it could be approved quickly. The commissioner’s court approved that contract with Big Fish on Jan. 18, 2019.
"Live PD" camera crews
After lunch, the state brought in two camera operators who filmed for "Live PD" and were on scene the night of Ambler’s death. Both testified about filming the moments up until police taped off the crime scene and they had to wait outside to get the rest of their gear.
They testified that they were eventually able to get their GoPro cameras, larger cameras and other gear that they left in deputies' cars when they jumped out to film the scene.
Chody and Nassour will be back in court Thursday at 9:15 a.m.