Well, the third time is usually a charm. Let's see what the prosecution does with this one. One thing is for certain - they really want to put poor little Hal behind bars badly. I just wonder how much all of this has cost the taxpayers and just what will happen if the jury gets hung for a third time.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Last updated: Tuesday August 10, 2010, 1:01 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
The Record
STAFF WRITER
Jury selection got underway this morning in a
federal courtroom in Brooklyn where Hal
Turner, the ultra-right-wing shock jock and
former FBI informant, is facing his third trial
on charges of threatening to assault or
murder three appellate judges last year.
A pool of 45 residents from Brooklyn,
Queens, Staten Island and Long Island were
summoned before U.S. District Judge Donald
E. Walter who expects to seat a jury of 14 by
this afternoon.
Among the prospective jurors were school
teachers, a supermarket worker, an engineer,
a university dean and an assistant to the
chairman of Barnes and Noble.
The jurors were preliminarily asked about
how they get their news, how they use the
internet, whether they harbor any feelings
about the Justice Department and FBI that
would prevent them from being fair to both
sides, and if they have any close friends or
relatives who are judges.
Other questions of a more private nature
were explored by the judge and attorneys
behind closed doors.
A federal prosecutor will deliver the
government’s opening statement later this
afternoon and the trial will then recess until
tomorrow.
Turner’s two previous trials, in December
and March, ended in mistrial after jurors
failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
The 48-year-old North Bergen resident is
charged with a single count of threatening t
hree Chicago-based judges from the 7th U.
S. Circuit Court of Appeals after writing on
his blog in June 2009 that they “deserved to
be killed” for upholding local gun-control
ordinances.
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments must remain civil. No threats, racist epithets, or personal attacks will be tolerated. Rational debate, discourse, and even disagreement are all acceptable as long as they remain on point and within the realm of civility.