Posted on 05/07/2008 4:25:50 PM PDT by Libloather
Jefferson trial venue questions renewed
Latest request cites Supreme Court case
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
By Bruce Alpert
WASHINGTON -- Attorneys for Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, asked a federal judge Tuesday to reconsider his ruling against a change of venue in the corruption case against the congressman.
They had argued that the case should be tried in Washington, D.C., and that the government chose suburban Virginia because there is a smaller pool of African-American jurors to consider the charges against Jefferson, who is black.
Their latest request to Virginia District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III was based in part on a 7-2 ruling by the Supreme Court in March that ordered a new trial for convicted murderer Allen Snyder of Jefferson Parish. The high court concluded that a prospective black juror, Jeffrey Brooks, was excluded from the all-white jury under circumstances that gave rise to an "inference" that he was excluded for racial reasons.
At the very least, Jefferson's attorneys wrote, the Supreme Court ruling shows that Ellis should have compelled testimony from Justice Department officials about whether the racial makeup of potential jurors played any role in the selection of venue.
**SNIP**
In a separate filing, Jefferson's attorneys asked Ellis to instruct the Justice Department to seek the appearance for pretrial depositions of two Nigerians, the country's former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and businessman Suleiman Yahyah, under a joint mutual legal assistance treaty. As an alternative, the defense attorneys said, the judge should consider writing a letter to the "appropriate authorities in Nigeria" to seek the depositions of the officials.
**SNIP**
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Marked
It's like O.J. When the trial was moved downtown, it was game, set and match.
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