Lawyers involved in an oil murder for hire case were forced to apologise to the judge after arguing outside the courtroom.
James Henrikson is being tried for multiple felony counts of conspiracy, solicitation of murder and murder-for-hire.
Henrikson, who ran an oil trucking company, is accused of arranging the murder of his business partner, Doug Carlie, in a North Dakota oil basin.
The attorneys exchanged verbal blows inside the courtroom regarding witness testimony before reigniting the fight outside the courtroom.
Judge Mendoza warned: “This needs to end now or I will end it.”
Tensions erupted when the prosecutor asked the judge to admonish the defence team.
He argued the defence was snickering in disbelief and making comments as the prosecutor’s witness testified.
Robert Delao, who is testifying against Henrikson for a reduced sentence, was on the stand when the courtroom drama unfolded. It’s claimed he organised James Henrikson’s hits.
Delao has already plead guilty to murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, solicitation to commit murder-for-hire and solicitation to distribute heroin.
Timothy Suckow, who testified on Tuesday, has already pleaded guilty to murdering Doug Carlile.
He testified that Delao had contacted him beforehand.
Lawyers dissected Delao’s text messages, including one where he referred to Doug Carlile as a “greedy troll” they needed to get rid of.
The prosecution is expected to call 56 more witnesses.
The trial is expected to last at least seven weeks. It’s expected to resume tomorrow.