ATLANTA -- Lawyers for both sides were in court Friday morning for a hearing in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal.
Both sides are working with the judge to get everything ready for jury selection. Neither former Superintendent Beverly Hall nor any of the other 12 defendants in this case were in court.
All 13 are being tried together, and this hearing dealt with how to handle this massive case. It could be the most expensive and longest trial in state history.
Part of the discussion dealt with how many potential jurors they'll need. Judge Baxter said they may have to go through as many as 1,200 potential jurors. He's looking at bringing 100 to court each day and having the attorneys for all 13 defendants go through 50 jurors each morning and 50 each afternoon. That means jury selection alone could go three to four weeks.
Judge Baxter acknowledged it's going to be hard select a jury because it's uncharted waters, saying, "This is like Christopher Columbus going to the new world."
Two of Dr. Hall's top aids, Sharron Pitts and Velemeter Mazyeck, have signed immunity agreements. This means they can testify against Hall without fear of legal retribution. Beverly Hall has maintained her innocence in this case.
