Judge sets up swift trial for Stevens

A U.S district court judge said Thursday that Sen. Ted Stevens's (R-Alaska) criminal case could be wrapped up before the end of October while announcing an expedited schedule for jury selection.

Judge Emmet G. Sullivan indicated that 150 potential jurors could be contacted as early as this week and that jury selection would begin Sept. 23. That process could last two days, but the trial could begin as soon as Sept. 24.

{mosads}"What we don't have is a lot of time between now and the commencement of the trial," Sullivan said, adding that the case would take "approximately four weeks."

Under that scenario, a jury might have enough time to offer a verdict before Election Day, when Stevens is seeking his seventh full Senate term. The longest-serving Republican senator has pleaded not guilty to charges of allegedly concealing more than $250,000 worth of gifts from an oil-services company.

Stevens missed Thursday's procedural hearing at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, campaigning instead in Alaska, where he faces six primary challengers on Aug. 26. If he wins, the 84-year-old Stevens would face 46-year-old Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich in the general election.

Brenda Morris, a counsel at the Justice Department, told Sullivan that the prosecution plans to call between 30 and 40 witnesses, a process likely to take three weeks.

Representing Stevens, Robert Cary told the court that the defense could wrap up its case in one week.

Stevens's lead attorney, Brendan Sullivan, participated in Thursday's hearing by telephone, as did two United States attorneys in Alaska.

The schedule for the case could be shuffled considerably if Stevens wins a change of venue to the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. Stevens, who has strong name recognition in Alaska, could benefit from a home-state trial, particularly because it may allow him to campaign in October when Congress is expected to be on recess.

The hearing on the motion to transfer the venue will occur on Aug. 20, Sullivan said. Stevens's attorneys filed a motion to transfer the venue on Monday, and the government plans to submit an opposing motion by Aug. 11.

Stevens will not be at the Aug. 20 hearing, Cary said.

If the motion to transfer is denied, other motions must be filed with the D.C.-based court by Sept. 8 so they can be considered at a pre-trial Sept. 10 hearing, Sullivan said.

Later Thursday, the Justice Department plans to give 500 gigabytes worth of electronic evidence to Stevens's team for review. The judge asked for any disputes over the evidence to be resolved between the two parties, in the interest of expediting the case.