Several more potential jurors let go, some object to death penalty, one strongly in favor

posted on: May 11, 2010

Several more potential jurors were dismissed because of their opposition to the death penalty, and one man was excused after saying a death sentence in a first-degree murder case would be his only choice for a punishment.

By the morning break, 35 potential jurors were sent home - 13 who were against capital punishment and one adamantly in favor.

"If someone takes somebody else's life, they took an innocent person's life, I don't think that they should be allowed to live," the man said.

Deputy Public Defender James Leslie asked him if there were any factors that would allow him to consider a lesser sentence, and the man said perhaps if the killer was younger than 14 years old.

"I'm thinking they don't know what they're doing," he said.

After a few more questions from Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler, Judge Perry agreed to dismiss the man.

He was replaced with a woman who said she was a victim of sexual assault, and had already decided that James Biela was guilty. Perry excused her, too.

The next man said he could not impose a death sentence, and Perry sent him home.

That brought to 35 the number of those dismissed from the pool of 75 brought in on Monday. Another group of 75 is available this afternoon if needed.

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Update at 10:35 a.m. Three more prospective jurors were sent home from the James Biela murder trial because they said they could never impose a death sentence.

"I thought long and hard about this last night, and I think I can honestly say that I would never vote for the death penalty under any circumstances," said one man who is a social worker.

Deputy District Attorney Elliott Sattler asked the judge to excuse the man and after a few more questions, Judge Robert Perry let him go.

The next two men called to replace the social worker also said they could not impose a death sentence, and Perry excused them, too.

By 10 a.m., 32 prospective jurors had been released, and 12 were let go over their position on a potential death sentence.

James Biela trial: Jury selection begins Monday morning

posted on: May 10, 2010

More than two years after the sexual assaults, kidnappings and slaying occurred, and a year and a half after an arrest, the time has come for trial.

About 75 prospective jurors will file Monday into a courtroom and answer questions to determine whether they can be fair and impartial while deciding the fate of James Biela, who is charged with kidnapping, rape and murder.

The trial before Washoe District Judge Robert Perry is expected to last three weeks. Biela could face the death penalty if convicted.

Biela's lawyers have asked the judge to move the trial out of Reno, arguing that the Denison case has been highly publicized since she was first reported missing Jan. 20, 2008.

The intense media coverage would make it difficult for jurors to set aside what they heard or read and give Biela's case a fair review, the lawyers argued.

But in Nevada, a judge must first try to seat a jury and fail before a change of venue can be granted.

During hearings, Perry acknowledged that the case had drawn attention but hoped it could be overcome.

"The court believes that it is pure fantasy to imagine that it is probable that any juror in any location in the state of Nevada will not have heard of this case, particularly by the time the case come to trial in any venue," Perry said.

The focus while seating the jury will be to find people who will set aside "preconceived notions and opinions of others" and render verdicts based on the evidence presented at trial.

Perry denied a motion by Biela's lawyers to not exclude automatically any prospective juror who "believes in the sanctity of life" and therefore would have a problem imposing a death sentence. He said he would only dismiss them if they said they could not follow the law or find in favor of the death penalty if appropriate.

Perry also denied a motion to split the three cases into separate trials. After several hearings on the issue, Perry said the evidence suggested a "common scheme or plan," so the cases should be kept together.

Jury selection to begin in the high-profile murder case of Brianna Denison

posted on: May 8, 2010

Blue ribbons sprang up all over town as investigators frantically searched for a missing college coed who disappeared from a friend’s couch in the middle of the night near the University of Nevada, Reno campus.

The tiny pieces of fabric fluttered from street lights and fence posts as the community waited for word on 19-year-old Brianna Denison, fearing the worst.

When the popular Reno High grad’s body was found a month later under a discarded Christmas tree in a snowy field, the ribbons in her favorite color remained on icy tree limbs and casino marquees, a stubborn symbol of her hometown’s determination to find her killer.

More than two years later, the ribbons are gone.

James Biela, a 29-year-old Sparks pipe fitter, goes on trial next week for rape, kidnapping and murder in the Denison case. He is also charged with sexually assaulting two other young women.

Biela has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Even jury selection is expected to be contentious after sensational media coverage about the string of attacks that gripped the city for months.

District Court Judge Robert Perry that most people in the Washoe County jury pool have some awareness of the case.

“It’s going to be difficult to do,” Perry said of seating an unbiased panel. He acknowledged that some of the evidence will be “graphic, gruesome, inflammatory.”

Perry said he won’t consider moving the trial to another jurisdiction without first attempting to seat a jury in Reno.

“If this case is tried just about any place on the planet, there is going to be pretrial publicity and potential jurors are going to be talking about it,” Perry said.

The judge has taken several steps to try to ensure the verdict won’t be vulnerable to appeal, holding numerous hearings about the admissibility of evidence and ordering the names of jurors kept secret until after their work is done. His first move was banning ribbons.

“We don’t want blue ribbons in the courthouse. No signs, buttons, pins — ’Justice for Brianna,’ things like that,” Perry said.

RGJ case update: Judge eases curbs on media in Denison murder trial

posted on: May 7, 2010

The judge overseeing the murder trial for James Biela, charged with killing a college student and sexually assaulting two other women, agreed Friday to loosen some restrictions he had set on media coverage of the trial that begins Monday.

Judge Robert Perry of Washoe District Court had issued an order last week banning “photographs, videos or sketching” of jurors and anyone testifying, except expert witnesses or law enforcement. He also prohibited media interviews on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse.

Lawyers for the Reno Gazette-Journal and KRVN News 4 wrote letters to Perry arguing that restricting photos of witnesses and interviews on a public sidewalk would limit the media’s First Amendment right of access to court proceedings and “deprive the public of a critical source of information regarding the progress of the trial.”

Scott Glogovac, the newspaper’s lawyer, assured the judge that the paper has a policy against naming or photographing alleged sexual assault victims, so the two women who will testify will not be exposed. But he said the blanket prohibition of all “lay” witnesses was “overbroad” and violated the media’s constitutional rights.

Glogovac also said blocking the media from the sidewalk would inhibit “timely, candid interviews of trial participants.”

In response to the media’s concerns, Perry called a hearing Friday and said he feared some witnesses might be “ridiculed and harassed” or physically harmed if their faces appear on television or in the newspaper.

“This is a legitimate concern, particularly with all the wing-nuts out there,” including some who have left aggressive comments on the newspaper’s website, Perry said.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in this courtroom who wants to see us have a situation where somebody gets hurt ... or somebody is harassed or embarrassed because of the way we allowed this case to be publicized,” he said.

He also said he prohibited interviews on the sidewalk on Court Street because jurors and witnesses will be coming and going through that entrance, and he does not want them to be tainted by what they might overhear.

The Bring Bri Justice Foundation has created the Brianna Guide to aid in the search for a missing person. Additionally, the Foundation has created a search team to work with law enforcement in recovering missing persons. Currently, the search team is undergoing training from the Washoe County Sheriff's Department. The Foundation Center, in the Smithridge Shopping Plaza, will serve as the search center, in the event that someone from Washoe County is missing. If so, we will be in need of both search volunteers as well as donations, so please add your name to the volunteer list and donate using this web page.
 

100% of proceeds go to The Bring Bri Justice Foundation