“American Sniper” Popularity Could Upset Murder Trial

On February 11, former Marine Eddie Ray Routh is set to stand trial for the murder of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle. Routh confessed to shooting the famously deadly sniper and Kyle’s friend Chad Littlefield two years ago, but now, Routh’s attorney is calling into question whether Routh can actually receive a fair trial.

After all, there is the little matter of American Sniper, the Best Picture Oscar-nominated movie based on Kyle’s life that just dominated at the box office this Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

While American Sniper is based on the book of the same title written by Kyle, and does not depict his death, the Clint Eastwood-directed film, starring third-time Oscar nominee Bradley Cooper as Kyle, does paint him as a hero – frequently referred to as “legend” – through his four tours in Iraq. And Routh’s attorney, J. Warren St. John, says the film “is going to be an issue. Can there be a fair trial?”

Of course, St. John can’t actually say whether or not he believes Routh can get a fair trial, because Judge Jason Cashon issued a gag order to many members of the trial in July 2013, due to “the extensive local and national media coverage this case has already generated.”

In fact, St. John has speculated that Kyle’s widow, Taya (portrayed by Sienna Miller in the film), may already be in violation of the court’s order because of her participation in promotion of the movie.

While the film itself is ambiguous about the cause of Kyle’s death, that hasn’t stopped people who have seen it from calling for vengeance on social media outlets such as Twitter.

The court has scheduled a “media information meeting” for February 2.

American Sniper has pulled in an estimated $108.7 million domestically so far and is up for six Academy Awards on February 22, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Cooper.

via The Hollywood Reporter