February 27, 1996
Web posted at: 12:00 p.m. EST
From Correspondent Susan Candiotti
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (CNN) -- Federal building bombing suspects Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols make what could be their last appearances in an Oklahoma courtroom beginning Tuesday, one day after the judge who moved their trial to Denver ruled that the proceedings will not be open to television coverage.
At Tuesday's pretrial hearing in Oklahoma City, defense attorneys are expected to ask that indictments against McVeigh and Nichols be dismissed because a grand juror violated his secrecy oath by talking to a reporter.
Arriving Monday night in Oklahoma City, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch told reporters he had rejected Attorney General Janet Reno's suggestion for closed-circuit TV coverage of the trial (109K AIFF sound or 109K WAV sound) , which is not expected to begin before the fall.
Watching the trial via closed-circuit TV would have allowed bombing victims and people who lost loved ones in the explosion to avoid the inconvenience and expense of traveling 600 miles to Denver to watch the trial in person. "The rules do not allow cameras in the courtroom," Matsch told reporters.
Janni Coverdale, who lost two young grandchildren in the explosion, plans to make the trip to Denver. "I feel I owe them that much. ... We don't ever stop missing them." She said she accepts a trial in Denver as necessary to avoid a defense appeal, "even though it will be a hardship on a lot of people." (65K AIFF sound or 65K WAV sound)
This week, a team of prosecutors will travel to Denver to meet with public officials and private charities ready to help bombing victims attend the trial. Already, Denver businesses and residents have offered air fare, hotel accommodations, restaurant meals and other travel expenses, said Dahlia Lehman of the U.S. attorney's office in Oklahoma City.
A home-made bomb loaded into a truck brought down the Oklahoma City federal building on April 19, 1995, killing 169. The hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday -- dealing with a total of 12 defense challenges to the federal murder and conspiracy indictments -- had already been scheduled for Oklahoma City before Matsch's order last week moving the trial to Denver.
The next round of hearings, on whether the death penalty would be constitutional in this case, is expected to take place in Denver sometime in April, around the first anniversary of the bombing.
Coverdale has attended previous pretrial hearings and plans to be in court this week as well. "I stare at Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, still trying to find out why," she said.
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