Lincoln lawyer reacts to Aubrey Trail’s outburst

Aubrey Trail’s outburst in his murder trial has some attorney’s thinking about what they would have done in that dangerous situation.

Trail sliced his throat in court Monday morning. 

“Anytime you see something that is chaotic or unusual, certainly you need to take a minute and remember to keep yourself safe in that situation and kind of think about what you would do and how you would get away,” Criminal Defense Attorney, Nancy Peterson said.

Peterson remembers an incident she was involved in, in the court room. She dived over the deputies table so they could get to the client who had acted out after a bad verdict.

It’s been confirmed that because of Trail slashing his throat, he will be wearing handcuffs the rest of the trial.

Peterson says this will make a big impact on the jury moving forward.

“You don’t want to see them in shackles, that’s a really bad image for a jury who is trying to decide genuinely if the state has proven it’s case beyond a reasonable doubt but to see someone in shackles sort of creates this presumption of guilt,” Peterson said.

There is another tool that could have been decided on instead of handcuffs.

“There are belts that can be remotely activated to stun him if he were to act out,” Peterson said.

Peterson also mentioned that if the outbursts continue, Trail doesn’t have to be physically in the courtroom. He can be put in a different room, but it’s not ideal.

“You have a right to confront your accusers, a right to literally physically be in the same space with them,” Peterson said.

As an attorney, Peterson’s first priority in the court room is her own safety and then seeing if the client and everyone around is okay.