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Arizona bishop arrested in hit-and-run death -
case adds to problems facing Catholic leadership
Posted on 06/18/2003 4:35:49 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Windshield case attracts spotlight
Mallard trial will focus national media, legal eye on FW courts again
06/18/2003
FORT WORTH – When it comes to trying highly publicized court cases, Tarrant County jurors get plenty of practice.
Sensational murder defendants such as Cullen Davis, Diane Zamora and Robert Neville have stood trial in Fort Worth, greeted by a crush of TV cameras and curious courtroom spectators.
Legal observers expect the glare of national media – and the challenges that come with it – to return this week as the "windshield case" begins in state district court.
Known more for the circumstances of the crime rather than the defendant herself, the trial of former nurse's aide Chante Mallard has kept those involved keenly aware of its visibility.
Ms. Mallard, 26, is accused of striking a homeless man with her car in October 2001. She allegedly drove home with Gregory Biggs entangled in her windshield, leaving him to die on the car in her garage. Police arrested Ms. Mallard and charged her with murder and tampering with evidence four months after they found Mr. Biggs' body in a south Fort Worth park.
"I've been in criminal law for 30 years and I've never seen any case like this," said George Dix, law professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "It's so difficult to believe how a person could fail to help, to take action at any time after hitting the man."
Jury selection begins Wednesday in state District Judge James Wilson's court.
No stranger to dramatic cases, Judge Wilson will agree to allow the Courtroom Television Network to televise the trial. He has, however, limited other coverage and ordered the attorneys and others involved in the case not to talk to the media.
Court TV officials are debating whether to televise the trial live or on a tape delay, said Tim Sullivan, vice president of daytime programming.
"It's a case that's not that well known nationally, but it's a very interesting story with a very interesting, curious set of facts," Mr. Sullivan said.
A murder case in North Carolina involving a novelist who allegedly killed his wife, and proceedings in the California-based Laci Peterson murder trial, may pre-empt Court TV's live coverage of the Mallard trial, Mr. Sullivan said. If so, Court TV will broadcast taped footage of the Mallard trial, he said.
Nationally syndicated show Inside Edition is planning to cover the case closely, staff member Alana Stack said.
Sitting this one out
But officials from Fox News, the National Enquirer and Star , each of which helped propel the Peterson case to national prominence through omnipresent coverage, say they have no plans to send reporters to the Mallard trial. The outlets declined to explain their decisions.
Mallard case attorneys will nonetheless question potential jurors about the effects of media coverage preceding the trial.
Confronting the glare of publicity early on seems just a part of doing business, those involved with the case said.
The 1998 capital murder trial of Ms. Zamora, a military cadet, was conducted in Tarrant County and covered daily by Court TV as well as Dallas-Fort Worth network affiliates and major newspapers. Ms. Zamora and her lover, David Graham, were convicted for the 1995 kidnap-slaying of Mansfield teenager Adrianne Jones.
Later that year, Mr. Neville was convicted of the kidnapping and slaying of a mentally challenged woman. He gave a televised confession.
Judge Wilson, who presided over that trial, called 60 more prospective jurors in addition to the 250 initially summoned. He said prosecutors and defense attorneys went through 282 of those residents before they selected a panel.
The start of testimony in that trial was delayed three weeks, in large part because of intense media coverage, he said.
Judge Wilson ruled last week that the Mallard trial would remain in Fort Worth, despite objections from defense attorneys.
But the judge emphasized in a written order that Ms. Mallard would have a "fair trial, free from any media interference or influence."Prosecutors maintain that the bulk of publicity in the case occurred more than a year ago when Ms. Mallard was arrested and that many people have forgotten about the case.
Defense attorneys, meanwhile, charge that many of the more salacious details initially reported – that the victim was imbedded in the car for days, for example – are false. Tarrant County has ruled that Mr. Biggs died hours after being struck by the car.
Police said Ms. Mallard struck Mr. Biggs in October 2001 as he walked along U.S. Highway 287 near the Loop 820 split. Mr. Biggs, a former school bus driver and bricklayer who was homeless at the time, was not killed immediately, police said.
2 others pleaded guilty
Co-defendants Clete Jackson and Herbert Cleveland have pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence after admitting to dumping Mr. Biggs' body. Each received a prison sentence in exchange for testimony against Ms. Mallard.
Even potential jurors who say they have not been affected by pre-trial publicity could not remain truly unaffected once they're immersed in the bizarre circumstances of the case, Fort Worth attorney Mark Daniel said.
"You can scour the nation over and not find an offense like this," he said.
Mr. Daniel, who in 1994 defended teenager Kristi Anne Koslow in her stepmother's brutal slaying, testified last week that Ms. Mallard couldn't receive a fair trial in Tarrant County because of the impression the case could have left on many potential jurors.
Fort Worth attorney and legal commentator Bill Lane disagreed. "These are sophisticated jurors," he testified. "We've found we've been able to pick a jury and try our own cases in Tarrant County."
E-mail lfox@dallasnews.com and dlevinthal@dallasnews.com
Sen Jack
LOL !
Arizona bishop arrested in hit-and-run death -
case adds to problems facing Catholic leadership
Thanx, Eric
A difficult call, I'd guess. She didn't start out with the intention of murdering him, but once she kept him the garage to die, refusing him help, then wouldn't that be premeditated? I'm no legal begal, there has to be some reason why they aren't going for the death sentence in such a horrible case.
And please, add me to your ping list.
Don't forget Rita-my thighs are fatter than Hitlerys-special sources-Cosby. ;-)
I'm disappointed at that decision.
: (
Chante Mallard (left) is accused of striking
Gregory Biggs with her car and leaving him
to die in the windshield.
Take a look at Ms. Mallard. She's neither attractive nor sympathetic. The victim was a homeless man with few friends or relatives to interview endlessly.
There are no high-profile attorneys representing this woman or the victim.
Think of the backlash that would come from creeps like Leo Terrell and Jesse Jerkson if there were endless shows demonizing Ms. Mallard.
Think if the races and genders of the victim and perp had been reversed.
You're not DP eligible unless you commit a second felony in the commission of a murder or unless the murdered is an LEO.
DWI and failing to aid would both be misdemeanors, I believe, and the only proof of DWI would be the defendant's own statements since it was months afterwards that the crime was even discovered.
Set me up on the smaller ping list once the trial starts. I'm contemplating giving a heads up to my brother-in-law who has become a Court TV addict.
Makes one wonder about the autopsy/Medical examiner's statement that Biggs died in hours, not days later. Why would she lie about that ??? I don't think she'd have any reason to.Thanks for the link and text report.
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