Hearing set for Monday in Amber Guyger murder case

DALLAS - Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger is expected to be in court Monday for another hearing ahead of her trial.

Guyger is facing murder charges for the 2018 death of Botham Jean.

She is accused of going into Jean’s apartment, thinking it was her own, and shooting him, mistaking him for an intruder.

Now her defense team will be in court to see what they can and cannot use as evidence.

The trial will stay in Dallas for now. Guyger's attorneys had asked for a change of venue, claiming that publicity surrounding the emotionally charged case would prejudice the jury pool.

The judge is withholding a ruling on that request until jury selection.

The 2018 murder of Botham Jean sparked outrage from many in Dallas and other parts of North Texas.

Guyger, who was a Dallas PD officer at the time, claims she went into Jean’s apartment thinking it was her own.

Police say when she saw Jean, she thought he was an intruder, and then shot and killed him.

The focus of Monday’s hearing is a motion on the admissibility of “character- trait evidence.”

Guyger’s defense wants to make sure they can present witness testimony of what they call her “good character.”

Criminal defense attorney Todd Shapiro, who is not involved in the case, explained why her team may be pushing for character trait testimony.

“It seems from some of the things they’ve filed, there may be some specific character traits they want to be able to get into about her that would shed some light on some positive character traits that may say she’s not the type of person that would’ve committed this kind of act,” Shapiro said. “That she’s not the type of person that would’ve committed a murder.”

In the hearing, they'll be laying out ground rules about what can and cannot be used as evidence during the trial.