Photo: Catherine McQueen / Moment / Getty Images
SANTA ANA (CNS) - Jury selection will start over Wednesday in the trial of a man charged with the allegedly hate-motivated killing of a gay former high school classmate, following an outburst in court by the defendant last week that prompted an Orange County Superior Court judge to declare a mistrial.
In the midst of jury selection last Thursday, Samuel Lincoln Woodward, who is accused of the Jan. 3, 2018, killing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, had an outburst in court, after which his attorney moved for the entire jury pool to be dismissed. Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger granted the request, and warned Woodward that she will consider shackling him or removing him from the courtroom if there are further outbursts.
Menninger formally declared a mistrial, but in court Tuesday, she clarified that the declaration related solely to the jury selection process. But her declaration kept intact all of her previous rulings on pretrial motions attorneys have argued over the past several weeks. The attorneys on Wednesday will consider some of the remaining issues to be ironed out with pretrial motions.
The outburst, in essence, set the trial back by about two weeks. Opening statements and testimony could potentially begin by April 8. Testimony had been just a few days away before Woodward's outburst in court last week.
An entirely new pool of jurors will brought to court Wednesday to fill out questionnaires.
Woodward's attorney, Ken Morrison of the Orange County Public Defender's Office, said his client has had a "persistent cough" and some "digestive issues" bothering him of late. Menninger said she initially thought Woodward was attempting to make a dash for the bathroom before his outburst Thursday.
Menninger advised Woodward to alert his attorney or the courtroom deputies if he needs a "time out" during the proceedings.
Removing Woodward from the courtroom "is the last thing I want to do," the judge told the defendant.
"But if you do something I have these options available," she said of shackling and removal from the courtroom.
"I don't harbor any ill will toward you," Menninger told Woodward, adding that the outburst "doesn't matter to me."
"I'm hoping that between you and I we'll have mutual respect," Menninger said.
Woodward quietly and politely responded to the judge that he understood the rules going forward.
There was no discussion on the record Tuesday about whether Menninger should step aside in the trial following the outburst.
Chapman University law professor Mario Mainero said Friday that it would be unlikely for the judge to recuse herself.
"If (the defense) tries a motion to recuse I'm sure the judge would not approve it," Mainero said.
Whatever the judge said to the jury pool that appeared to anger the defendant, Mainero said, "I don't see that being a significant (issue). It doesn't show a bias against him. And, anyway, she's cured it by getting a new jury pool."
A defendant can't be allowed to jockey for a new judge by disrupting court proceedings, Mainero said.
Woodward's previous attorney, Ed Munoz, said at the defendant's preliminary hearing that Woodward is afflicted with Asperger's syndrome and spent years conflicted about his sexuality. Prosecutors, however, have painted a picture of a gay-bashing defendant with ties to white supremacists.
Woodward is charged with murder with sentencing enhancements for a hate crime and the personal use of a deadly weapon. He is facing up to life in prison without the possibility of parole if he is convicted.
Woodward and Bernstein were classmates at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana and had reconnected through the social media platform Snapchat before the killing.
The suspected murder weapon was a folding knife inscribed with Woodward's father's name, prosecutors said.
Woodward told investigators during questioning that he contacted the victim through Snapchat and picked him up about 11 p.m. Jan. 2, 2018, according to testimony at the preliminary hearing.
He drove Bernstein to the parking lot of a Hobby Lobby store in Foothill Ranch, a sheriff's investigator testified.
When Bernstein kissed Woodward, the defendant pushed him away and used a derogatory term for homosexuals, prompting Bernstein to apologize profusely, the investigator testified. The two agreed to go then to Borrego Park in Lake Forest, which is near the home of the victim's parents, officials said.
According to the investigator, Woodward still "wanted to hang out" with Bernstein so long as the victim understood Woodward wasn't interested in him romantically.
The body of the University of Pennsylvania pre-med student was found about a week later in a shallow grave in the park following a highly publicized search. He had been stabbed about 20 times.
Investigators found homophobic and Atomwaffen-related material on the defendant's computer devices, the previous prosecutor in the case said at the preliminary hearing.