Jury selection today in Hattiesburg mayoral dispute
Specially Appointed Judge William F. Coleman denied Mayor Johnny DuPree’s motion for summary judgment Monday afternoon, meaning the court will spend this morning picking a 12-person jury. In fact, Coleman sounded a pessimistic note that his court won’t make much headway in selecting jurors from a 400-juror applicant field.
“I don’t think we can get a jury together for a trial tomorrow,” Coleman noted during the motion hearing at the Forrest County Courthouse.
Earlier, DuPree’s attorney Brandon Jones argued against the necessity of a jury trial in the first place for mayoral candidate Dave Ware’s challenge of the June 4 election, in which DuPree defeated Ware by 37 votes, calling it a “ridiculous errand.”
Clarion Ledger
7/23
Magnolia Tribune
