• Judge's Order Reversed in Smuggling Case

A federal appeals court overturned a judge's order that two juries should decide the fate of a truck driver accused in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants. The three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday also denied prosecutors' request to remove the judge presiding over the trial of Tyrone Williams, of Schenectady, N.Y. Williams, who is black, is seeking an opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court on whether his race was a factor in federal prosecutors' decision to seek the death penalty against him. He is the only one of 14 defendants in the case facing capital punishment. U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore had ordered two juries - one to decide whether Williams is guilty, another to determine the punishment if he is convicted - so the case could proceed while the high court considers Williams' argument. But the appeals panel said two juries would violate the Federal Death Penalty Act. It ordered Gilmore's trial to begin as soon as possible using one jury qualified to consider the death penalty. The trial has been postponed four times since its original Jan. 5 start date. [ more ] and [ more ]