Judge: Nichols Trial Must Be Moved

ATLANTA -- Judge James Bodiford has ordered that the Fulton County government must move the trial of accused courthouse killer Brian Nichols out of the Fulton County Government Complex within the next ten days.

"The facility chosen to house the trial of the case MUST be located within Fulton County, Georgia, and meet the following: necessary security requirements; necessary transportation requirements for both the Defendant, the staff, and the jurors (i.e., Atlanta Braves Parking); space, size, and technology to accommodate the staff of the Court, the Defense, the State, and the Media; accessible to public transportation; and in close proximity to the Fulton County Government Complex for access to technology, resources, supplies, and the office of the Superior Court Clerk," an order signed by Judge Bodiford said in a court order.

Nichols entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday morning in the 2005 rampage that ended the lives of a superior court judge, court reporter, sheriff's deputy and U.S. Customs agent.

Under the supervision of the case's second judge, jury selection finally started three years after Nichols overpowered a deputy and took her weapon while being escorted to court for his trial on rape charges. He confessed to the subsequent killings, but his attorneys plan to argue he was the victim of a "delusional compulsion" at the time.

This is the second time jury selection has been held in the case. The first -- in January 2007 -- was called off because of a lack of funding for the defense. This time, the defense failed in its continuing efforts to have the trial delayed.

Cobb County Superior Court Judge James Bodiford, who has vowed to do things "the Bodiford way", fulfilled his promise that the trial would start on July 10. As lawyers, court watchers, and members of the media filled the courtroom, the first panel of 16 prospective jurors entered the courtroom. They were questioned about whether they knew anyone on the defense or prosecution teams, or if they knew Nichols. Of the 16, nine said they had already formed an opinion about the case.

The trial is expected to last months and Judge Bodiford has scheduled a six-day work week for most of the trial.

The first judge to oversee the trial -- Hilton Fuller -- suspended it indefinitely in October 2007 because the state public defender's office cut off funding to Nichols' attorneys amid a budget crunch. District Attorney Paul Howard sued Fuller, saying the delays were creating "an emergency situation," and called for the Georgia Supreme Court to intervene.

Fuller was targeted by a special legislative inquiry, giving angry state legislators a platform to attack publicly funded defense attorneys whose costs have ballooned to more than $1.8 million.

State lawmakers approved new measures this year to ban senior judges like Fuller -- who do not face re-election -- from hearing death penalty cases. They also tightened the public defender system's budget.

Fuller later stepped down after he was quoted in The New York magazine as saying of Nichols, "everyone in the world knows he did it."

As the case has sputtered along, authorities say Nichols stayed busy. He was suspected of enlisting his pen-pal girlfriend, a paralegal and at least two sheriff's deputies in a scheme to break out of the Fulton County Jail.

The alleged plot is being investigated by a special prosecutor, who so far has not filed any charges.