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Judge delays opening statements
April 29, 2004 - From LilCaliGirl Judge Delucchi has delayed opening statements in Scott's murder trial a week as the court struggles to find jurors. Attorneys in the high-profile trial now are scheduled to begin presenting their case to a jury May 24. Judge Alfred Delucchi said he has directed that 100 more prospective jurors be brought in May 10 "out of an abundance of caution." That group could be used to supplement the original 1,000 people summoned as possible jurors in the case. Fifty-six people from the original panel have advanced to the final round since jury selection began in March. Fifty-four remain to be questioned after no one qualified during the morning session today. Delucchi hopes to have at least 70 jurors for the final phase, which he refers to as "the big spin." At that point, the defense and the prosecution each will have 26 peremptory challenges - which they can use to dismiss a potential juror without giving a reason. Twelve randomly selected people from the pool of 70 will be placed in the jury box. Prospective jurors will be rotated in as the attorneys use their challenges until 12 jurors and six alternates remain. Delucchi today also pushed back the final selection round a week, facing the real possibility that an additional 14 qualified people cannot be culled from the 54 remaining. The final selection round is now set for May 20. That could be moot if the judge rules in favor of an expected defense bid to move Peterson's trial a second time. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for May 11. Scott's attorney Mark Geragos, repeatedly has said the trial should be moved to Los Angeles County -- the states most populous -- to counter massive publicity he says has poisoned potential jurors across much of Northern California. The original judge in the case moved Peterson's trial to San Mateo County after ruling that pretrial publicity endangered Peterson's ability to get a fair trial in Modesto, his wife's hometown. HOME INDEX LACI TRIAL NEWS COURT DATES SCOTT ALIBI-WITNESS LIST EVIDENCE-NEWS WIRETAPS |
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