Detroit (WWJ) -- The former chief of staff for ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will go on trial the first week of January and attorneys say the case could last for more than a month.
Wayne County Judge Tim Kenny said jury selection will start January fifth for Christine Beatty, who has refused plea bargain deals to settle charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
Beatty is the former chief of staff to Kwame Kilpatrick, who stepped down as mayor Thursday as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in the same case. Ken Cockrel Jr. became mayor Friday, taking the oath of office while Beatty was in court.
Beatty is accused of lying about an affair with Kilpatrick while testifying in a civil lawsuit last year involving retribution against police officers.
Her trial will spark a new fight over text messages that contradicted their denials and led to criminal charges after some were published in January by the Detroit Free Press.
Beatty chose to go to trial this week after rejecting at least two offers from prosecutors, one for 60 days in jail and another for 150 days in exchange for a guilty plea.
Concerned about spoiling the jury pool, Wayne County Circuit Judge Timothy Kenny expressed disappointment Friday about media reports of plea offers. But details were widely reported Monday after another judge in the negotiations told prosecutors to disclose them in court.
"From today on, it better stop,'' Kenny told attorneys, referring to any media leaks. "I don't want to have to impose a gag order, but I will.''
He said Beatty's case will be conducted in a "dignified manner ... not like a Paris Hilton press conference.''
As many as 300 prospective jurors will be summoned to fill out a questionnaire Dec. 5. Months of news about Kilpatrick and Beatty will make it tougher to pick a jury - "unless we find 14 people who have been living on a mountaintop,'' Kenny said.
Over the next two months, the case will be dominated by arguments over evidence. Beatty's lawyers will claim that a federal law prohibits the use of text messages.
"It's one of the key issues, not the only one,'' defense attorney Mayer Morganroth told reporters.
Robert Moran, one of four prosecutors at the hearing, said his side of the case could last a month. Kilpatrick is a potential witness. Morganroth predicted the trial could go as long as three months.
"It's not a bread-and-butter-type case. It's complicated,'' he told reporters.
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