Fair Trial

In an extraordinary ruling, the supervising judge of the criminal courts dismissed the grand jury in thJ. Simpson case because of prejudicial publicity. In spite of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti's self-serving disclaimers, he must recognize his responsibility for the events leading to this fiasco. Garcetti had launched what The Times described as a "media blitzkrieg."

Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols, escorted separately into a courtroom crowded with federal employees touched by the deaths of their colleagues, proclaimed their innocence Tuesday in the terrorist bombing of the federal building here four months ago. Inside a courtroom that itself was damaged by the blast across the street, defense attorneys insisted that a fair trial is impossible in Oklahoma City because no one in the community emerged unaffected by the bombing.

Thirty-five years ago today, Justice Hugo Black of the U.S. Supreme Court declared "an obvious truth": that "any person haled into court who is too poor to hire a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him." The court's decision in Gideon vs. Wainwright reversed the conviction of a down-and-out drifter for burglarizing a Florida pool hall and remanded the case for a new trial with an appointed lawyer to represent the defendant.

He may not have had a choice, but there is little doubt among legal experts that when Superior Court Judge Lance A. Ito launched his sweeping probe into the conduct of jurors in O.J. Simpson's double murder case, he embarked on a process that is unnervingly like a high-stakes version of Dungeons and Dragons. At the heart of his quest is the judicial grail of a fair trial.

Manuel A. Noriega, standing erect in his full military uniform, made a dramatic plea for fairness Friday, telling a federal court that the U.S. government "has done as much as possible to deprive me of a fair trial." The deposed Panamanian dictator, as preparations bogged down for his upcoming drug-trafficking trial, told U.S. District Judge William M. Hoeveler that "the government of the United States does not wish that I defend myself."

On the eve of a hearing on her request for permission to talk to her two sons, Elisabeth A. (Betty) Broderick told The Times that she has lost all hope of receiving a fair trial in the San Diego courts. "It's me against everybody. I can't go against the system anymore," Broderick said in a brief interview Tuesday night at the County Jail in Las Colinas. "I give up. I'm dead. I'm gone. My family is dead. It's over. I cannot fight this machinery."

Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain, whose 1990 kidnaping at the behest of American drug agents set off a titanic diplomatic and legal battle, said in a jailhouse interview that he is an innocent victim of a government willing to trample international law to put him behind bars.

Lawyers anxious to have the murder trial of Michael Dally and Diana Haun moved out of Ventura County had a California State University professor analyze a survey of prospective jurors and he concluded that a fair trial would not be possible locally. Edward Bronson, a professor of social science at Cal State Chico, said a defense survey of about 500 prospective local jurors found a high percentage had already formed the opinion that the pair are guilty.

An Orange County judge denied a motion Friday to move the trial of a driver accused of killing Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two of his friends, rejecting the argument that the defendant can't get a fair trial in the county where Adenhart played baseball. "I'm confident a fair jury can be selected to hear this matter," Orange County Superior Court Judge Richard Toohey said. An attorney for Andrew Thomas Gallo had requested that the trial be moved outside Orange County given the publicity surrounding the ballplayer's death.

In life, Nick Adenhart was a little-known rookie pitcher with a strong work ethic and a powerful arm. But in death, he has become an icon, a "fallen angel," according to fans. Adenhart, 22, was killed in an April 2009 car accident by a suspected drunk driver, hours after his first start of the season for the Angels, a game in which he threw for six scoreless innings. Now, as the trial of the accused driver is set to start in Orange County, a judge must decide whether Andrew Thomas Gallo can get a fair trial in the county where the home team lost a hero.