A preliminary hearing for Larry Millete, who is accused of killing his wife May "Maya" Millete in January 2021, has entered its sixth day — which is, for San Diego County, an atypically lengthy hearing to decide if a suspect should be tried for murder.
The long hearing may be due to an unusually high number of sidebars, which were, at first, held away from the gallery but after an objection from the media, sidebars are now being played out in front of the court.
NBC 7 will bring you the Millete hearing — expected to last two to three weeks — every day, other than pauses if required by the court or during recesses. Watch Live in the player above, on Roku Channel 134 or Samsung TV+ 1035
Sidebars usually happen in a jury trial to prevent the jury from hearing something they shouldn’t or to protect the privacy of a victim. But this isn’t a trial and there is no jury. What we’ve watched in court now is the judge explaining to the attorneys on both sides how to practice law. He’s rephrasing cross-examination questions, reframing objections and, lately, making many objections himself.
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In one instance, Judge Dwayne Moring said, "Counsel, when the court makes a ruling, I do not want you to ask me any questions about that ruling. It’s a ruling. In any court of law when the judge makes a ruling you move on."
At one point late Wednesday, Moring even made eye contact with the press in the gallery and said, “Now you know why we’ve been having sidebars.”
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Most of the sidebars over the first five days of court were on the record, so NBC 7 Investigative Reporter Alexis Rivas has filed a public record request for the transcripts.
The Maya Millete Case: This is an entry in NBC 7's live blog coverage of the Larry Millete Hearing. To read other entries, CLICK HERE
