The motion seeks to throw out the verdict on 122 grounds, including claims that the county's list of potential jurors was tainted. Senior Superior Court Judge William Towson did not rule on the motion Wednesday. He recessed the hearing indefinitely until lawyers from both sides can file briefs on the jury pool issue. The problems, which were made public after Brannan's trial and after a new computer program was installed, eventually led Superior Court judges to call off criminal court for four months last year. However, none of the witnesses said there were specific problems in pulling the pool of 200 jurors from which Brannan's jury was selected.
People move away, people move in, people die, and people are convicted of felonies.
Every day your jury list is subject to change. Some two dozen items of evidence, including a half-dozen boxes of jury lists, were submitted by evidence by Michael Mears, a noted death penalty lawyer hired to assist in Brannan's appeals. Assistant district attorney Peter Fred Larsen objected to almost every piece of the evidence, verbally sparring with Mears over admissibility of the items. Towson allowed the evidence, saying he was granting the defense some leeway because the hearing was a motion for a new trial. Brannan, a Vietnam veteran with a documented history of mental illness, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.