From: Judge Gull
To: Brad Rozzi
Cc: Andrew Baldwin; Nick McLeland; Jim Luttrull; Jennifer Auger; Stacey Diener
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 11:15 AM EDT
Good morning,
I will answer your questions as follows:
The intent is that jury selection will take three (3) days. Court will be in session in Allen County beginning at 8:30 am and concluding when we conclude for the day. You have all been provided with the sub-panel lists, broken into morning and afternoon sessions. I will forward to you under separate email the seating charts for Courtroom 1 and the strike sheets we will be using for selection. The selected jurors will be sworn in upon selection and ordered to not speak or communicate with anyone about the case and to conduct no research on the case. They will further be ordered to return to the Allen County Courthouse on Thursday morning with their luggage and personal effects which will be searched by law enforcement officers to ensure they are bringing nothing electronic or illegal. Once that is complete, they will be transported to their hotels by my staff. The order I referenced above contemplates an invitation to the media to meet with me in the Carroll Circuit Courtroom Thursday afternoon so that they can take photographs of the empty courtroom and B roll footage of the Courtroom for their stories and broadcasts, and to receive their press credentials.
This case was set as a speedy trial at the request of the defendant for May 13-31, 2024. That is the length of the trial, not "more or less". When the order was issued, not one attorney notified the Court that the length of the trial was insufficient, in fact it is consistent with the previously scheduled length in January 2024. I intend to start Court every morning by 9:00 am and recess for the day around 5:00-6:00 pm; Court will be in session on Saturday, perhaps for the entire day if necessary. Court will be in recess on Sunday to allow the jurors and the parties to rest. I have tried death penalty and Life Without Parole cases in this amount of time, all of them with multiple victims. I am unaware how many witnesses the prosecution intends to call, nor on how long their case will take to present. The defense is claiming it will take "a couple of weeks" to present its case. I am unsure what exactly the defense intends to present. I am quite familiar with the law regarding third party perpetrators and unless the defense can provide a nexus between any alleged third party perpetrators and the charged crimes those allegations are unsupported and will be inadmissible.
Please be prepared to present your cases timely, have your witnesses available quickly and promptly. I look with disfavor on counsel attempting to manipulate the presentation of evidence by timing witnesses poorly. That conduct will not be permitted. The jurors time is valuable, especially since they are sequestered and away from their homes, families, and jobs. Please respect the sacrifice the jurors are making.
Judge Gull