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Mistrial declared in rape case against Nichols
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fulton County judges declared two mistrials today in the aftermath of Friday’s killing spree at the downtown courthouse, but one of the decisions was immediately reversed.
Superior Court Judge Stephanie Manis declared a mistrial in the rape case Brian Nichols faced when he allegedly gunned down a judge, court reporter, sheriff’s deputy and later a federal agent.
Superior Court Judge Constance Russell declared a mistrial in the death penalty case of Michael LeJeune, who is accused of settling a 1997 drug debt by killing a Dunwoody man and beheading him.
But the mistrial in LeJeune’s case was aborted after the defense attorney, Brian Steel, changed his mind and said he wanted the existing jury to hear the case.
In the Nichols rape case, in which he is accused of taking an ex-girlfriend hostage and repeatedly assaulting her, Manis appointed a public defender to serve as co-counsel.
The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council had complained that it had not been given access to Nichols while police interviewed him at length after he was captured Saturday.
Gary Parker of the council was named as Nichols’ co-counsel and sought assurances from the judge that he will have access to the murder suspect.
“So we won’t have problems with access to him?” Parker asked. The judge looked across the room at District Attorney Paul Howard and responded, “Mr. Howard will assist you in any way possible.”
Nichols’ current attorney, Barry Hazen, is out of town today but is expected to withdraw from the case, Manis said. “Once his current counsel steps out, we didn’t want there to be a gap in representation,” Parker told the judge.
Parker had asked Manis to toss Hazen off the case because of public statements Hazen made about Nichols — including his assumption that Nichols would have been convicted of rape if he hadn’t made his escape during his trial.
“He has made statements detrimental to his client,” Parker told the judge.
Nichols is expected to have a brief first-appearance hearing before a Fulton County judge on murder charges Tuesday, said Erik Friedly, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.
In asking for a mistrial in the LeJeune death penalty case, Steel had asked the judge to wait two or three weeks before beginning to pick a new jury. Russell, however, said she would have new potential jurors available next Monday.
Steel discussed the judge’s ability to seat a new jury with LeJeune and asked the judge to void his request for a mistrial and keep the jury that has heard the case since last week.
As the judge prepared to dismiss the court for lunch, prosecutors asked Russell to make sure LeJeune was in agreement with his attorney’s decision not to seek a mistrial.
In a surprise to Steel, LeJeune said he did indeed want a mistrial declared. The judge decided to delay her decision on that request until after Steele and his client had a chance to discuss the matter. LeJeune returned later to say that he agreed with his attorney to continue with his current jury.
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