Georgia Judge Sets Speedy RICO Trial Schedule for Pro-Trump Attorneys, Signaling a Very Busy October Ahead
ATLANTA – Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Friday morning presented an initial game-plan for the coming weeks to tackle the logistical nightmare of the first Georgia election racketeering trial, against pro-Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell.
With jury selection just 21 days away, McAfee set a timeline to handle all pre-trial motions and hearings, and one thing seems certain – no more virtual hearings.
“Based on this morning’s experience I don’t think it will be over zoom,” McAfee remarked during Friday’s hearing, which was held virtually and opened with a 15-minute delay due to the technical difficulties of having a half dozen attorneys, the public and the judge all on the same call.
Jury summons have gone out to 900 Fulton County residents, and they will be called in two batches of 450, McAfee said.
The first will report on Oct. 20, a Friday, and fill out a jury questionnaire.
“We’re officially kicking it off on a Friday, October 20, and that was simply because of the logistics of getting jurors in a room,” McAfee said, noting that questionnaire day might be a good time for the defense teams to have their clients in the courthouse and be seen by the potential jurors.
Then, the following week will be full days of jury selection, done in panels of 14, with the aim of working through a panel in the morning and another in afternoon, trying to end each day by 6 p.m.
“450 (jurors) on 10/20, we’re going to see how the week goes, what the burn rate is, how many qualify,” McAfee said. “If we need to do another 450 that’s the next friday.. if we can do five, six (jurors) a day we won’t need that friday with the extra 450.”
Ken Chesebro and Sidney PowellFulton County Sheriff’s Office
In order to keep things moving efficiently, McAfee is going to have digital countdown clocks installed in the courtroom, limiting the time prosecutors and the defense have to question jurors to an hour for each side: one hour for Chesebro’s team, one hour for Powell’s team and one hour for the district attorney’s team.
“Each party will have an hour for each panel, what you do with that hour is up to you,” McAfee said, adding “We’ll rotate which party starts off the questioning for each individual juror.”
“We do one panel of 14 in the morning, if we’re able to get through it by lunch, another panel of 14 (jurors) is waiting for us in the afternoon… and we repeat until we see how many we’re able to qualify and what our burn rate is so that’s the plan of attack right now,” McAfee said.
McAfee’s proposed jury selection process stands in stark contrast to that used by the judge in the ongoing racketeering case against Atlanta rapper Young Thug and his alleged “YSL” gang, where jurors have been questioned one at a time, dragging out jury selection over for nearly 10 months.
But before jury selection begins, McAfee will have to hear arguments and rule on a number of pending motions related to the discovery process and moves by Chesebro’s attorneys to negate the racketeering charge against him.
Here’s a timeline of what to expect in the coming months based off of McAfee’s discussion with attorneys Friday:
TIMELINE
Oct. 5 – Pre-trial motion hearing, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 6 – Deadline to file written responses to motions.
Oct. 10 & 11 – Additional dates for pre-trial hearings, if needed.
Oct. 16, 17 & 18 – Final “catchall” dates for pre-trial hearings.
Oct. 20 – First batch of 450 jurors reports to Fulton County Superior Court for jury questionnaires.
Oct. 23 – Jury selection begins.
Note: Georgia trial rules state that the prosecutors must produce their witness list 10 days before trial, the defense must do so 5 days before trial.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee hears motions from attorneys representing Ken Chesebro and Sidney Powell in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023.AP photo/Jason Getz, Pool
McAfee said he anticipates that once the trial begins it will be full days in court from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday with a week off for Thanksgiving and the last two weeks of December off for the winter holidays. He said he expects a three- to five-month long trial, roughly in line with the four months anticipated by prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Friday they may offer plea deals to Powell and Chesebro prior to trial, a standard move in criminal proceedings. McAfee requested the state notify him whenever an offer is made.
Friday’s hearing, conducted via Zoom and livestreamed on McAfee’s YouTube channel, gave legal observers an opportunity to witness the proceedings as they happened.
“Judge McAfee continues to impress,” George Washington University Law School professor Randall Eliason commented. “Seems smart, organized, in control, making good rulings, keeping things moving.”
Donald Trump’s mug shotFulton County Sheriff’s Office
The trials of Powell and Chesebro will be held before the other 17 co-defendants, including former President Donald Trump, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani. Powell and Chesebro requested expedited proceedings under Georgia’s Speedy Trial Act. A trial date for the others has not yet been scheduled.
Several of the defendants in the case have also still not signaled whether they intend to exercise their right to an expedited trial, and McAfee said on Friday that it is possible other defendants could decide to join Powell and Chesebro for the trial next month.
Powell and Chesebro are both accused of seven state felony counts in the sweeping election-racketeering case alleging a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Both have pleaded not guilty.
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