Judge orders jurors in Williams case to be sequestered

Kim Smith

Thursday, Feb. 1, 2001 | 11:06 a.m.

Jurors in the Jessica Williams involuntary manslaughter trial will be hard pressed to ignore a judge's order not to talk about the case or watch media accounts of the trial.

They are going to be sequestered.

District Judge Mark Gibbons decided on Wednesday that the jurors who decide the young woman's fate should be monitored the entire length of the trial, which is anticipated to last between two and three weeks.

Gibbons made his decision shortly after Williams' first jury had to be dismissed because of misconduct.

According to officials, a woman selected to sit on Williams' case was reportedly overheard discussing her belief in Williams' guilt during the jury selection process. The woman in question allegedly said she lied about being unbiased because she wanted to get on the jury panel.

Gibbons sent the jury home Wednesday morning shortly before opening arguments were scheduled to begin. A new jury will be selected over the next two days from a group of people who were originally scheduled to take part in the jury selection process for murder suspect Margaret Rudin.

Opening statements in the case may begin Monday.

The judge also decided on Wednesday that instead of selecting two alternate jurors, attorneys will select four alternates.

The 12 jurors and four alternates will spend each night at an undisclosed location and will not be permitted to watch TV, said Clark County spokesman Doug Bradford. Their telephone access will be restricted, and they will likely receive newspapers that have had references to the trial removed.

Bradford believes the cost of sequestering the jurors will range between $3,500 and $4,200 a day. That cost takes into consideration housing, food, transportation, laundry needs, entertainment and a four-member bailiff team.

In order to cut down on costs, Bradford said Gibbons is looking at the possibility of having extended courtroom hours and working on Saturdays.

Williams, 21, is accused of running over and killing six teenagers as they picked up trash in the median of Interstate 15 on March 19.

Prosecutors contend Williams passed out while under the influence of marijuana and Ecstasy, while her attorney argues she simply fell asleep.

Those killed were Malena Stoltzfus, Rebeccah Glicken, Jennifer Booth, Anthony Smith, Scott Garner Jr. and Alberto Puig. The teens were 14 to 16 years old.

Williams has been charged with six counts each of reckless driving, involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of a controlled or prohibited substance. She also has been charged with one count each of being under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Williams faces up to 120 years if convicted.

The last time a jury in a criminal case was sequestered was in 1988 when Howard Haupt went on trial in the death of a 7-year-old California boy killed at Whiskey Pete's near Interstate 15. Haupt was found not guilty.

In 1990 a jury also was sequestered in a defamation lawsuit filed by Las Vegas entertainer Bobby Berosini, Bradford said.

Berosini sued People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Performing Animal Welfare Society after they circulated a videotape of him striking an orangutan he used in his act at the Stardust. The tape was broadcasted nationally.

The jury awarded Berosini several million dollars, but the Nevada Supreme Court reversed the jury's decision in 1995.