Brian Nichols and his lawyers don't want to work six days a week during his murder trial.

On Tuesday, they asked Superior Court Judge James Bodiford for a more-relaxed schedule.

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Henderson Hill, lead attorney for Nichols, noted that at least three of the lawyers involved were older than 50.

"There are some young 50s and older 50s," said Hill during a court hearing Tuesday to decide legal issues before jury selection begins Thursday. "When you start burning the candle at both ends like that, there are limits."

The snowy-haired Bodiford wasn't impressed.

"Is there anybody on your team who is 58 years and 11 months? I'm the oldest one in here," Bodiford said. "All I'm asking you to do is work 9 ½ hours every day."

Nichols has entered a mental-health defense to charges that he murdered a Fulton County judge, court reporter and sheriff's deputy on March 11, 2005. He is also accused of killing a U.S. immigration and customs agent later that day.

He was on trial on charges of kidnapping and raping his former girlfriend when authorities say he escaped from a holding cell and shot the victims after assaulting a guard and getting her gun.

District Attorney Paul Howard is seeking the death penalty.

The trial has been delayed since lawyers were to start questioning jurors in February 2007. Senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, who was then presiding over the case, ordered the trial delayed after defense lawyers — who had billed the state more than $1.2 million in wages and expenses — complained the state was balking at more payments. Fuller, under fire from the legislature and Howard for delaying the trial, resigned in January after being quoted about Nichols' guilt on the New Yorker magazine web site.

On Tuesday, Nichols' lawyers again asked Bodiford to delay jury selection to allow a hearing to resolve their complaint that Howard's office will not hand over information involving alleged misconduct by a prosecutor who presided over Nichols' rape trial. The former prosecutor is now a potential key witness in the murder case.

Bodiford has told lawyers that if a hearing is necessary, they can extend their workdays and argue the issue after jury selection ends during the day.

The defense lawyers also wanted time to appeal another judge's decision that Bodiford could remain on the case. The lawyers had sought to remove Bodiford for comments he made to a reporter shortly after the shootings about one of the victims, Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, and the quality of the crime.

Prosecutor Christopher Quinn accused the defense of trying to delay the trial again through the legal maneuvering.

Bodiford said jury selection would go on as planned.

"We'll see you Thursday at 8:40 a.m.," he said.