Barring a last-minute objection, attorneys will be in open court today to discuss jury selection in the trial of Mayor Frank Melton and his two former bodyguards on federal civil rights violation charges.
The hearing originally was planned to be a closed “status” teleconference with U.S. District Judge Dan Jordan. The Clarion-Ledger filed a motion Thursday asking for permission to attend, citing “great public concern and interest” in the federal charges facing the mayor and Jackson police Detectives Marcus Wright and Michael Recio.
Jordan’s assistant sent an e-mail to attorneys in the case a few hours later citing the motion and the unexpected presence in Jackson of chief federal prosecutor Mark Blumberg as reasons for moving the discussion to a courtroom.
Magnolia Tribune
