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Wednesday, January 18, 2006
‘Hanging’ remark removes juror
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A quick decision to remove one prospective juror before he ever appeared Wednesday showed how sensitive the federal corruption case against former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell has become — even before testimony begins.
Campbell’s lead defense attorney, Billy Martin, stood up at one point and asked U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story to disqualify the man because he wrote in a questionnaire used to screen jurors that Campbell ought to be “hung from the highest tree.�
Some Campbell supporters already believe the case against him is racially motivated.
“To suggest he be lynched and hung from the highest tree is not an opinion,� Martin said. “That’s blatant racism.�
The man was excused without ever appearing before Story, who questions prospective jurors individually.
Despite the excusal — and several more for other reasons — the court was able by this afternoon to qualify 28 people who will be part of a pool that will be whittled down to a 12-person jury.
Sixteen of the 28 potential jurors so far are white, 11 are black, and one is a Pacific Islander. The court will qualify eight more potential jurors to get four alternates for the trial, which is expected to go into March.
The jury would be seated Thursday, with opening arguments scheduled for Monday.
Among other prospective jurors appearing Wednesday, one man was removed because of uneasy economic times at Delta Air Lines.
The man wrote that the Atlanta-based carrier is headed toward another round of layoffs and “it was intimated to me this would not be a good time for me to not be doing my job.�
The judge threw up his hands in frustration after the man left the room.
Prosecutor Russell Vineyard asked the judge to investigate which Delta supervisor might have issued the warning, but Story declined, excusing the man.
Story said he doubts jury service would cause the man to be fired, but the judge added, “I guarantee if he does lose his job he’ll blame you and me. We’ll have one unhappy juror.â€?
Another potential juror, a middle-aged white woman who said she was afraid of driving in downtown Atlanta, was qualified over defense objections.
“I believe where there’s smoke, there’s fire,� she wrote, a point brought up by Martin as to why she should be excused. “I figure it looks bad. I don’t think he was honest.�
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Judge gets tough with juror
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jury selection slogged along today in the Bill Campbell federal corruption trial, with three more potential jurors getting picked and the judge scolding another for not listening to his instructions.
The chided potential juror, a middle-aged white man, told U.S. District Judge Richard Story that his wife had left out a newspaper article about jury selection in the trial and he had perused it.
“I know you told us not to, but I glanced at it,� the man said with a faint smile.
The man then recited some of the details from the story that he remembered — a few of them wrong. “You need to understand there are sanctions, there are fines and penalties for not following the court’s instruction,� Story said. “This is not a minor slip-up. This is a big deal to me.�
Story excused the man from service but told his courtroom deputy to keep him around until he decides what to do with him.
At lunch, nine more potential jurors had been qualified bringing the total to 26. The court wants to create a pool of at least 34 potential jurors before the two sides strike, or select, a 12-person jury with four alternates. That could come as early as Thursday.
Campbell, 52, who is charged with seven counts of racketeering, income tax evasion and bribery, walked into court today saying that he had slept restfully. The former mayor and a few supporters prayed before walking into the courtroom.
Those excused from service today were:
— A 69-year-old nanny, who lives on Lake Lanier, who was unsure of how she would get to Atlanta each day.
— A man whose company is on the verge of a round of layoffs and who feared that his absence for up to eight weeks would ultimately cost him his job.
— A woman who cares for her elderly aunt.
A woman real estate agent said she was concerned about lost income from the trial, causing the defense to ask for her to be excused on a “hardship� because of the possible length of the trial.
Lead defense lawyer Billy Martin speculated that the trial could last more than eight weeks.
Story was not happy hearing that.
“I’m putting you on notice that if you expect to it to last eight weeks, be prepared for weekend work,� the judge said.
Staff writer Ernie Suggs contributed to this report.
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Day 2 will bring more jury questioning
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Attorneys are expected to continue screening out opinionated jurors today during Day 2 of jury selection in the federal corruption trial of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.
On Tuesday, the first day of the trial, 17 potential jurors were placed into the jury pool out of 28 who were questioned.
Several prospective jurors were removed Tuesday for reasons ranging from job hardships to those who hated the IRS or already thought Campbell was guilty.
U.S. District Judge Richard Story brought in the first of the more than 230 potential jurors selected from around the metro area. Campbell’s defense team and federal prosecutors will select 12 to sit in judgement of the former mayor, plus four alternates.
The potential jurors are not being identified by name or address, only by number.
During the jury selection, Campbell leaned forward with a faint smile sometimes nodding as the potential jurors answered questions posed to them by the judge.
The jurors are bringing with them either knowledge of the case or already formed opinions.
Billy Martin, Campbell’s lead attorney, said he was “troubled� by two jurors in a row saying, “I will try but I am not sure� they can be fair. He asked the judge to nix both jurors and several other white men and women.
The judge agreed to dismiss some who said they already believed Campbell was guilty, but the judge said others could qualify to sit on the jury.
Prosecutors only asked to cut a few people from the group of potential jurors. Their list of undesirables included a middle-age white woman who worked for the state Department of Corrections for 10 years and is disdainful of snitches and a black car salesman from Union City who said he thought Campbell was a good mayor and he once dealt directly with the mayor when he owned his own landscaping business, which did work at Campbell’s home.
“I see myself as being more of an advocate for him than the prosecuting attorneys,” the man said. He said when he realized his jury summons involved Campbell’s case, his reaction was: “Oh gosh, I shouldn’t be here because of my relationship with him.”
Juror No. 7, a retired black man, said he had a daughter-in-law who had been sent to prison on embezzling charges but thought that the process was fair. He said he knew Ronnie Thornton, an expected witness who illegally contributed to the Campbell campaign, but it was in the 1950s, and Thornton was a boy at the time.
Among the other jurors, No. 8, a white middle-aged woman, said she had changed her mind since filling out the 24-page questionnaire last month that she and others received. At the time, she wrote that she could be fair.
“I got caught up in it,� No. 8 said about filling out the questionaire. “I thought I could be fair. I don’t think I can be.� The judge excused her.
Juror No. 2, a white man about 30 who was a volunteer firefighter in Woodstock, said he has heard family members recently refer to Campbell “as a crook.â€? The man, who is an inventor of firefighting and medical devices, wants to be excused from the jury because he has a chance to be a participant in a show similar to the popular “American Idolâ€? reality show, in Los Angeles in March. The man said he has seen minorities who have not been treated fairly by law enforcement officials. The defense asked that he be removed, but the judge didn’t make a decision Tuesday.
Juror No. 6, a white woman about 30 who moved to the Atlanta area about 18 months ago, told the court that politicians “have an ethical obligation, and they should be held up to that.� The defense also wanted her removed, but she was approved for the pool.
Beth Warren, Ernie Suggs and Mike Morris contributed to this story.
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