Supreme Court Denies Twitter Appeal

Defense attorneys received a quick response from the state Supreme Court Thursday after seeking an immediate hearing to appeal a ruling against their client, Joshua Komisarjevsky, who is accused in the triple murders of members of the Petit family in Cheshire.

On Wednesday the attorneys had asked the high court to hold a hearing to consider a Superior Court ruling on the use of Twitter in the upcoming trial.

In a response written by Harry Weller of the Chief State's Attorney Appellate Bureau, the court denied the hearing request, stating there is no threat to Komisarjevsky's rights. "... Any threat to the defendant's rights can be addressed during the trail or, if he is convicted, on appeal," Weller wrote.

Defense Attorney Jeremiah Donovan argued that Twitter feeds are the same as broadcasting, which when a defendant is charged with sexual assault, is not allowed in the courtroom.

Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue on Feb. 22 denied the defense's motion to prohibit the use of Twitter ruling that tweets, 140-word text messages to multiple recipients, are not defined as broadcasting .

Jury selection is expected to begin late next week for the trial in which Komisarjevsky is charged with killing Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11, during a home invasion in Cheshire in July 2007. Dr. William Petit was the sole survivor of the attack.