NEW ORLEANS (AP) A federal judge has refused to declare a mistrial in the case of former BP drilling engineer charged with obstruction of justice following the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
In a filing Tuesday, defense lawyers for Kurt Mix said prosecution questioning of witness Wilson Arabie on Monday improperly raised issues of whether Mix ordered copies made of spill-related documents in order to eliminate possibly incriminating hand-written notes made in some of the margins.
The defense said prosecutors were barred by an earlier court order from raising that issue.
U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. ruled Tuesday that he would instruct jurors to disregard the testimony. However he declined to declare a mistrial.
Mix is charged with two counts of obstruction of justice for allegedly deleting text messages and voicemails about the company's response to its 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. He has pleaded not guilty.