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Thursday, January 19, 2006
Jury picked for Campbell trial
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A jury in the federal corruption trial of Bill Campbell was selected today. Seven jurors are black, five are white. Five jurors are women.
The selections came after a battle over the defense team’s efforts to strike 10 whites from the jury pool and prosecutors’ efforts to remove five blacks and one white. The trial is expected to begin Monday.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Story was troubled by arguments from the attorneys that the other side was using race as a reason to strike potential jurors. Doing so is illegal.
“Both sides have articulated race-neutral reasons� for striking jurors, the judge said before pausing. “I’m struggling for a way to make this about the criminal charges against the person by the U.S. government and nothing more. We do a disservice to ourselves and the system when we make it about anything else.�
The judge added, “I’m not asking for political correctness or anything else, but I want a trial based on law and evidence and that is fair and doesn’t judge a man by the color of his skin.�
“I don’t think this is about race,” Story said, “but I worry about the perception.â€?
The two sides defended their jury strikes by articulating reasons other than race. Potential jurors last month had filled out 24-page questionnaires with 117 questions, so the legal teams had plenty of ammunition to make their case, whatever it was going to be.
For instance, lead Campbell defense attorney Billy Martin struck a white man from the pool by noting the man had written that politicians should be held to a higher ethical standard than other people.
Prosecutors said some jurors weren’t struck because they were black but because they had had negative experiences with law enforcement officials. Another, a black woman struck by the prosecution because she said Campbell “made some mistakes.� Prosecutors were afraid that she might be reducing alleged criminal behavior to “mistakes.�
The seven-count indictment alleges that Campbell, now 52, managed City Hall as a criminal enterprise, and it accuses him of racketeering, accepting bribes and tax evasion.
As mayor from 1994 to 2002, the indictment contends, Campbell raked in more than $160,000 in payoffs and collected $137,000 in illegal campaign contributions. It also charges that city contractors bankrolled a trip to Paris for Campbell, sent him on gambling junkets and installed a heating and air-conditioning system in his Inman Park home.
Campbell denies the allegations.
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Race a sticking point in jury selection
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Defense attorneys and prosecutors were locked in battle at midday while selecting a jury in the federal corruption trial of Bill Campbell.
The sticking point? Race.
Campbell’s team moved to strike — or remove — 10 prospective jurors from a pool of 28. All of them were white.
Prosecutors moved to strike six jurors from the pool. Five of them were black.
Both sides accused the other of using race as the reason — which is illegal. Both sides also denied the other’s accusations, saying they were using statements that each prospective juror made in a 24-page questionnaire they filled out last month.
Defense attorneys are challenging the prosecution’s six strikes. One was a black man who listened to V-103 radio, which has supported Campbell for years. Another man prosecutors want to remove is a black man who was once stopped by police and felt it was racially motivated.
The defense also wants to remove a white woman who works as an economist at Agnes Scott College whose son went to school with Campbell’s daughter.
As attorneys battled at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, several miles away at a church, more than 50 Campbell, many of them elderly, turned out for a rally.
“We’ve come today in support of our friend Mayor Bill Campbell and to express our belief in his innocence,” said Michael Langford, president of the United Youth Adult Conference. Langford is an Atlanta native and political activist who became Campbell’s director of community affairs.
Langford led the rally, which included the singing of hymns, prayers and speeches. “We believe at the end of the day that he will be exonerated,� he said.
“The city of Atlanta would not be what it is today if it hadn’t been for Bill Campbell,� said Eva Davis, who recalled that Campbell once “came to my rescue� after he home was firebombed. “I’m going to support him until the day I die.� Campbell did not show up at the hour-long rally despite a V-103 report, which the radio station billed as “exclusive,� that the former mayor would speak at 11 a.m. to the supporters at Rush Memorial Congregational United Church of Christ on James P. Brawley Drive near Spelman and Morehouse colleges.But Campbell’s no-show didn’t dampen the spirits at the rally.
“Bill has fought his way all the way,� said the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a longtime civil rights activist. “The only thing Bill’s guilty of is not bowing down.�
The seven-count indictment alleges that Campbell, now 52, managed City Hall as a criminal enterprise, and it accuses him of racketeering, accepting bribes and tax evasion.
As mayor from 1994 to 2002, the indictment contends, Campbell raked in more than $160,000 in payoffs and collected $137,000 in illegal campaign contributions. It also charges that city contractors bankrolled a trip to Paris for Campbell, sent him on gambling junkets and installed a heating and air-conditioning system in his Inman Park home.
Campbell denies the allegations.
Jury selection is expected to wrap up today, with the start of opening statements Monday.
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Campbell remains in courtroom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite reports that Bill Campbell would be surrounded by friends and supporters at a local church at 11 a.m. today, the former Atlanta mayor was seated with his defense team at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building for his corruption trial.
Both the defense team, lead by Billy Martin, and prosecutors were deciding whom to toss from the jury pool so they could come up with a 12-member jury and four alternates.
Radio jock Frank Ski, who frequently has let Campbell proclaim his innocence on Ski’s V-103 morning show, told listeners the two-term mayor would talk with supporters at an 11 a.m. rally the Rush Memorial Congregational United Church Of Christ on James P. Brawley Drive.
“Basically, he is asking all his friends and supporters to come on out, stand by his side,” Ski said on his morning radio sho. “He will make comments today at 11 o’clock.â€?
The announcement came as a surprise to Campbell defense team.
When the clock struck 11, Campbell was at the courthouse with his wife, Sharon, sitting nearby with a family friend. Other than U.S. District Judge Richard Story, attorneys, the Campbells and reporters, the courtroom was nearly empty.
Campbell is charged with seven counts of racketeering, income tax evasion and bribery. He has pleaded not guilty.
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Where will Campbell be at 11 a.m.?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bill Campbell can’t be at two places at once. Reports that he would be at a rally at 11 a.m. to proclaim his innocence seem to be overstated as the former mayor was in court this morning with lawyers ready to select a jury for his federal corruption trial.
Radio jock Frank Ski, who frequently has let Campbell proclaim his innocence on Ski’s V-103 morning show, is telling listeners the two-term mayor will talk with supporters at an 11 a.m. rally near the Atlanta University Center.
Campbell’s lawyer, Billy Martin, said this morning that the news of Campbell’s anticipated presence at the rally at the Rush Memorial Congregational United Church Of Christ on James P. Brawley Drive came as a “surprise� because he expected the 52-year-old Campbell to be in court.
Is it possible that Campbell will telephone supporters during a break in the federal court proceedings?
Here is what Ski said this morning:
“Basically, he is asking all his friends and supporters to come on out, stand by his side. He will make comments today at 11 o’clock.�
Campbell is charged with seven counts of racketeering, income tax evasion and bribery. He has pleaded not guilty.
After two days of screening potential jurors, prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected today to begin choosing 12 jurors and four alternates, with opening arguments in the case anticipated on Monday.
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