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Request to delay Malvo trial denied
From Mike M. Ahlers
FAIRFAX, Virginia (CNN) -- The trial for alleged sniper Lee Boyd Malvo will begin as scheduled November 10. A judge Thursday denied a prosecution motion to delay the proceeding until December. In the motion, Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Robert Horan Jr. said the delay was needed because the prosecution's mental health expert, Evan Nelson, needed more time to evaluate Malvo and prepare his report. He asked for a delay of at least one month. Fairfax County Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush said the case had become something of a "juggernaut" and that many of the arrangements for witnesses, clerks and jurors already had been made. Roush told the prosecution that its expert could examine Malvo after the trial starts, and she hinted she might grant recesses once the trial started. The judge then asked Malvo if he would cooperate with Nelson. "Yes, ma'am," he said. Malvo's defense team argued against postponement, noting that it had met all deadlines imposed by the court and had given prosecutors documents indicating their plans to pursue an insanity defense for Malvo in a timely fashion. After the motions hearing, Horan disagreed, saying he would give the defense the benefit of the doubt, but that the defense attorneys "sandbagged us" by announcing at the last minute plans for an insanity defense. Horan said the announcement gave the prosecution little time to prepare. Malvo, 18, is standing trial for the October 14, 2002, sniper shooting of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot store in Falls Church, Virginia. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Franklin's slaying was one of 10 fatal sniper shootings last October that terrorized the Washington metro area. (Victims of the sniper attacks) Police and prosecutors say Malvo and his alleged accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, 42, are responsible for the sniper shootings. Muhammad is standing trial in Virginia Beach on murder charges stemming from another shooting. Malvo was in that courtroom Wednesday to be identified by two witnesses who linked the duo to shootings in Alabama. (Latest on the Muhammad trial) Malvo's defense is trying to get authorization for his mother to attend the proceeding. She lives in Jamaica and is barred from entering the United States because she previously entered the country illegally, using documents from Muhammad. Roush ruled earlier that defense attorneys could not let Malvo's mother testify from Jamaica via video-conference, citing the expense and the objections of prosecutors. CNN producer Jim Spellman contributed to this report
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