These two stories refer to the jury selection process in the Oklahoma City Bombing trial at the Federal Courthouse in Denver. The presiding judge is U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch.
April 19, 1997
Rocky Mountain News
Jury Selection in Final Stages
(beginning of story snipped)
Broomfield woman could be charged with contempt
A woman from Broomfield also was dismissed from the pool, but there may be a different outcome for her.
She told Matsch she had been reading news accounts of the case and know details about fellow potential jurors who had been described in the stories, and about problems with the FBI laboratory in analyzing evidence in the case.
"You understand that was the opposite of what I told you?" the judge said strongly. "Why did you do it?"
The woman said she thought jury selection
was going more quickly and that "the odds were pretty small"
that she'd be called. Matsch dismissed her but raised the possibility of
a contempt
citation.
"You will be hearing from me," Matsch told her.
April 30, 1997
From the Associated Press
Email: feedback@ap.org
McVeigh Judge Takes Jurors To Task
DENVER (AP) -- A federal judge may withhold pay and expenses from two prospective jurors in Timothy McVeigh's trial because they violated an order to avoid news accounts of the case.
U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch issued an order to both prospects this week asking them to explain why they should be reimbursed for jury duty if they violated his order.
When Matsch issued summonses in February to about 1,000 prospective jurors in the Oklahoma City bombing case, he instructed them to avoid reading or listening to news accounts about the case.
A woman juror identified as No. 420 told Matsch during questioning that she had read newspaper accounts about FBI lab issues related to evidence and a story about answers other prospects had given. She was due $54.88 in fees and expenses.
The other woman candidate, identified as No. 318, admitted during questioning that she had watched television news reports about prospective jurors being questioned in the case. She was due $148.20 in fees and expenses.
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