Malvo defense subpoenas Muhammad
Pool of potential jurors winnowed to 28
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Malvo takes notes during Monday's proceedings.
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CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports on sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo's plea of not guilty.
A look at the potential evidence in the trial of sniper suspect Lee Malvo.
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CHESAPEAKE, Virginia (CNN) -- Attorneys for sniper shootings suspect Lee Boyd Malvo have subpoenaed alleged accomplice John Allen Muhammad in the hopes of proving the older man brainwashed Malvo into participating in last year's deadly shootings.
The attorneys for the 18-year-old Malvo also have subpoenaed Muhammad's ex-wife to show what they allege is a controlling personality by Muhammad.
Malvo's attorneys conceded, however, that they do not know if Muhammad will cooperate.
Malvo is charged with murder, terrorism, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in the death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin outside a store in Falls Church, Virginia, on October 14, 2002.
He could face the death penalty if authorities prove he was responsible for at least two murders in a three-year period. The charge of terrorism could also carry the death penalty if prosecutors show he was responsible for a murder intended to intimidate the public or influence the government.
Authorities believe Malvo pulled the trigger in many of the sniper shootings that left 10 people dead and three others wounded in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. He and Muhammad are also suspected in shootings in several other states.
Meanwhile, on the second day of jury selection in Malvo's trial, lawyers for both sides whittled the pool down to 28. Opening statements are set for Thursday morning.
When selection resumes Wednesday, prosecution and defense lawyers will each have six chances to strike prospective jurors as they select the 16 who will hear the case -- 12 primary jurors and four alternates.
The pool includes 15 women and 13 men. There are 20 whites, seven African-Americans and one Asian-American among the 28 remaining prospective jurors.
Two are homemakers, several are current and retired educators, one is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, one a nuclear welder, one a legal assistant and one a minister, among other occupations. Ages range from 22 to 69.
Fairfax County Judge Jane Marum Roush, overseeing the trial, got permission to proceed with jury selection Tuesday despite the federal Veterans Day holiday -- a sign of her commitment to quickly begin a trial that she has said could last six weeks.
Muhammad's trial, 15 miles away in Virginia Beach, had the day off. When it resumes Wednesday, Judge LeRoy Millette Jr. is expected to deny a defense motion to dismiss the case made after the prosecution rested Tuesday. (Full story)
Defense lawyers argued that the prosecution failed to show Muhammad, 42, pulled the trigger in the shootings or that Malvo was under his control. The defense also argued that the prosecution failed to prove the shootings were acts of terrorism.
Malvo defense strategy
Craig Cooley, attorney for Malvo, told reporters the defense would argue that Malvo was not guilty by reason of insanity
His official pleas to the charges were "not guilty," Cooley said, because Virginia does not allow for a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Muhammad was subpoenaed so that attorneys can ask him about his "motivation for the indoctrination of Lee," Cooley said.
Indoctrination is the formal term for what many people call brainwashing, Cooley said. "Here is an extreme form of it in which a young man came under the total and complete dominance of the older gentleman," he said.
He described Muhammad as "very persuasive, very talented, manipulative -- and we think the evidence will show that.
"Anybody who's raised teenagers knows that they're easily influenced," Cooley told reporters after court Tuesday. He also said Malvo had grown angry toward Muhammad.
"Mr. Muhammad is every parent's nightmare ... and that will be a factor that is part of the life experiences of a juror and will make them a better juror to evaluate the effects of Mr. Muhammad's indoctrination," Cooley said of defense questioning of the jurors.
But Muhammad may refuse to testify. Malvo's defense team has not been allowed to interview Muhammad, and its mental health experts have been barred from speaking with him, Cooley said.
Cooley said Muhammad's ex-wife, Mildred, was subpoenaed because "I think Mrs. Muhammad will be able to testify to the manipulative nature of Mr. Muhammad.
"I think she will be able to describe ... his persuasiveness and his disciplined approach to things. I think all that is probably well-known to her, and that's what we hope she would testify to."
Malvo's defense is also trying to bring Malvo's mother from Jamaica. She has been unable to enter the country.
Jurors questioned about death penalty, Islam
Attorneys from both sides asked prospective jurors about numerous topics, including their feelings on the death penalty and whether they've been exposed to pretrial publicity about the case. The prosecution generally asked substantially fewer questions than the defense.
The defense asked potential jurors whether they may be swayed by feelings about a "unique brand" of Islam that Muhammad followed and Malvo adopted under his guidance.
As with Muhammad's trial, Malvo's was moved from Fairfax to a county away from the Washington area in hopes of avoiding a jury pool that may have been biased.
Malvo wore a sweater, rather than a coat and tie, as he did Monday, the first day of jury selection.
Cooley said he and his wife bought Malvo the clothes and denied that he was trying to emphasize Malvo's youth.
"We just wanted him to look appropriate for his age," Cooley told reporters Monday.
