Jury selection in the Nichols trial resumes today

Jury selection in the oft-delayed trial of Brian Nichols is back on track following a surprising weekend off. Last week, Judge James Bodiford made a big deal about the need to convene the court during weekends for the trial of Nichols, the man accused of escaping from an Atlanta courtroom in 2005 and killing a judge, court reporter and two other people during his escape and time on the lam. Lawyers, victim’s rights advocates and others have criticized the system for allowing the case to linger unresolved for so long. Bodiford is the second judge after taking the case over from Judge Hilton Fuller several months ago. Fuller, who stepped down amid controversy surrounding his statements that “everybody knows Nichols is guilty,” had placed the trial on hold for several weeks, honoring defense claims that the state had not adequately funded the defense of the death-penalty defendant. As many as 1,000 prospective jurors eventually will be called to the Fulton County Courthouse for questioning. During the first week of interviews last week, all but one from an initial batch of juror candidates had been called in. Bodiford said he could not justify asking the county to pay for opening the courthouse over the weekend for one interview. Legal observers say the Nichols trial, which is expected to last several months, could be the most costly in the state’s history. Already, the defense has spent at least $1.2 million representing their 38-year-old high-profile defendant.

The NAACP to host both presidential candidatates
The NAACP Convention kicked off its 99th national convention Cincinnati Saturday, uniting its 8,000 delegates around the diverse issues affecting people of color, including poverty, health, criminal justice, voting and home ownership. As an example of ideas anti-poverty proposals surfacing from the gathering, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg aims to redefine the standard of poverty to account for society’s rising costs. In other words, food, clothing, shelter and housing costs, and utilities expenses would be factored in, and the poverty line for those living in New York would go from $20,000 for a family of four to $26,000. Although the new formula would not affect federal social service programs, it would be used by city officials to develop initiatives within New York. This conference, whose official theme is “Power, Justice, Freedom, Vote,” is being held at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati. The city’s African-American mayor, Mike Mallory, expects to generate an estimated $10 million from hotel room charges, meals, tips and other tourism-related activities by the time the event concludes on Thursday. Both presidential candidates, senators John McCain and Barack Obama, will speak at the event.

The attorneys for an Atlanta man accused of killing four people – including his judge – during a daring courthouse escape three years ago are asking the current judge to relax the trial schedule just a bit. Superior Court Judge James Bodiford, the second judge appointed to handle a protracted legal process that has included five delays, ordered the trial of Brian Nichols to take place six days a week. Nichols was on trial for allegedly kidnapping and raping his ex-girlfriend when, prosecutors say, when he escaped from a holding cell in the Fulton County Courthouse and shot a judge, a court reporter, sheriff’s deputy and a federal customs agent victims after wresting the gun from a deputy. Nichols’ attorneys say that at least three of the defendant’s legal team is 50 years or older. “There are some young 50s and older 50s,” said Henderson Hill, Nichols’ lead attorney. “When you start burning the candle at both ends like that, there are limits.” Bodiford had little sympathy for Nichols’ team. 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.” The trial has been on hold ever since lawyers began interviewing prospective jurors in February 2007. The previous judge in the case, senior Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, was replaced by Bodiford after stepping down amid charges that he was biased against Nichols. Fuller had stalled the trial following claims from the defense lawyers that the state was not adequately funding Nichols’ capital trial. The trial could wind up being the most costly in Georgia history. Defense attorneys’ wages and expenses have already exceed $1.2 million, and the trial has yet to begin.

Atlanta courthouse murder suspect wants the death penalty off the table
The Atlanta man accused of going on a killing spree during his daring courthouse escape three years ago is blaming the DA of covering up misconduct by the prosecutor and wants the death penalty taken off the table. Brian Nichols, whose defense is that his was mentally incapacitated when he allegedly snatched a deputy’s gun and shot to death a judge, court reporter, deputy and an immigration agent, is also asking that certain evidence be thrown out. Nichols was at a hearing on earlier rape charges when he managed the escape. He argues that the former prosecutor in that initial case, Gayle Abramson, who is likely to testify in the murder case, indulged in misconduct. Nichols’ defense team, however, has not divulged the alleged misconduct to the court, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. In a statement to the newspaper Tuesday, Abramson and her husband, Rand Csehy, also a Fulton prosecutor, said that Nichols’ attorneys are attempting to kill the case by smearing her with a wiretap conversation involving another murder investigation, the Journal-Constitution reports. “Not only is this document factually inaccurate and filled with intentional falsehoods, but it is incomplete,” the couple said of the complaint. Nichols accuses Abramson of socializing with a murder suspect and his friends while on a trip to California.