Are you sure Nifong gets to pick the trial judge?
I think judges are usually chosen at random by some system set up by the criminal courts of that county. Or a judge can be assigned by the supervising judge for the criminal courts division. Or a judge is assigned because he/she is next up on the docket or has space on their docket.
Usually both sides have a chance to object and bounce one judge if they find him/her to be unacceptable.
I've never heard of one side unilaterally picking a judge.
They have been reporting on all the news stations that the DA gets to pick the judge and set the trial date. Pretty sad way of running things.
I've been waiting all this time for a judge to stop things and set things right.
I read that Judge Stephens was an honorable man and would do the right thing. I looked to him to quash the warrants he had approved on the basis of false info. Then this thing was going to end.
I read that Judge Titus was a strict man, but a fair one.
He was going to maybe end the trial Monday by quashing the ID, and the whole thing would finally end. So much for that hope.
I have no confidence that any other judge in the Durham gang is going to do any better; or that Nifong won't use every bit of influence he has to get the trial judge he wants, by hook or by crook.
Nifong gets to set the schedule of the trial. There is a rotating system of judges. Clearly he can not set the trial before a Durham judge that has rotated to a different jurisdiction. But could rush to trial if a judge he liked was currently in Durham, he did not, or delay until someone he does not like rotates out. I am not sure if by setting this for Spring 2007 that he knows who rotates into Durham County then.
It seems that DAs in NC have this scheduling power and it makes them a good bit LESS deferential to judges than DAs in most other states. It also based on watching these settings makes judges a good bit MORE deferential toward the DA than judges elsewhere.