Montgomery, AL – One of the defendants in Alabama's gambling corruption case, state Sen. Harri Anne Smith of Slocomb, has lost her attempt to have potential jurors from her part of the state considered for her retrial in Montgomery.
U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson on Monday rejected Smith's request to have potential jurors selected from the federal court system's entire Middle District of Alabama. It stretches from Montgomery to Dothan. Smith's request would have allowed her constituents in southeast Alabama to be considered for the jury.
Thompson ruled the federal court would follow its traditional practice of having potential jurors for Montgomery trials come from counties near Montgomery to hold down on travel. That practice was also followed in the original gambling corruption trial, which ended in August. The retrial starts in January.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)