THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2002
STATE
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 7A
Public aware of details in Robinson's trial
The Associated Press
OLATHE. — After a few hours of questioning it became clear yesterday that the public was aware of the lurid allegations in the murder case against John E. Robinson Sr., and that a jury would not be impaneled quickly.
Attorneys slowly and methodically narrowed a jury pool that began Monday with 600 people. Six at a time, potential jurors sat in the jury box and discussed their exposure to the case, their attitudes toward the death penalty and their views on sadomasochistic sex, an activity in which Robinson allegedly engaged.
As the second phase of questioning began yesterday, only four people were kept for the next round of questioning. Twelve jurors and five alternates are needed. That means 51 potential jurors are needed for the final
"It's not the sort of thing that can be rushed," Anderson said. "Obviously, we've been optimistic on how quickly we can go through folks."
Jury selection is now expected to last most of a second week, with Robinson's trial running as long as six weeks.
"There has been a lot of pretrial publicity regardless if you are aware of it or not."
More than 300 people were excused Monday and Tuesday. Judge John Anderson III said the second round of questioning was critical.
round of questioning, because of "strikes" each side can use to remove jurors.
Robinson, 58, is charged with killing Suzette Trouten and Izabela Lewicka, whose bodies were found decomposing in barrels on land Robinson owned in Linn County. He is also charged with killing Lisa Stasi, who has been missing for 17 years. He faces the death penalty.
Because of the slow pace, a group scheduled for late yesterday morning was told to report next Monday, while the afternoon panels were told to call court officials next week for their date to come back.
Anderson said it was still possible the remaining 600 potential jurors from the 1,200 originally summoned could be called back. The jury pool is the largest ever summoned for a case in Johnson County.
"It appears to the court that it was wise to do so." Anderson said.
Defense attorney Patrick Berrigan said the media coverage since Robinson's arrest June 2, 2000, had painted Robinson in a bad light. Earlier motions to change the venue of the trial or dismiss all 1,200 potential jurors because of the publicity have been denied.
Berrigan also asked jurors if they would be able to weigh mitigating circumstances during the penalty phase of the trial, if Robinson is found guilty.
Patrick Berrigan Robinson's defense attorney
"There has been a lot of pretrial publicity regardless if you are aware of it or not," Berrigan said yesterday.
The defense has said that it would present evidence that Robinson suffered from one or more mental conditions that could have impaired his behavior. Insanity is not a defense in Kansas for the death penalty, but
of summoning the 1,200.
could be used as a mitigating factor to show that a crime did not merit the death penalty.
One juror, identified only as juror No. 5, said he believed in the idea of eye-for-an-eye punishment and the death penalty. But if he had to impose it, "it would be something that I would think about until the day I die."
All potential jurors answered a lengthy questionnaire earlier in the summer, which addressed such subjects as pretrial publicity and views on capital punishment. A third selection phase will occur before the 12 jurors and eight alternates are seated.
Robinson also faces the death penalty in Missouri, where he is charged with the deaths of three women whose bodies were found in barrels in a storage locker at Raymore. Details of those murders are expected to be discussed during the trial in Kansas.
Graves to endorse Shallenburger in election
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — After six weeks of playing hard to get, moderate Republican Gov. Bill Graves plans to endorse conservative GOP gubernatorial nominee Tim Shallenburger.
Shallenburger spokesman Bob Murray confirmed yesterday that Graves planned to make the endorsement during a news conference today at his Statehouse office.
said.
Graves' office announced the event as a joint news conference with Shallenburger but did not mention an endorsement in his race against Democrat Kathleen Sebelius.
"We appreciate the governor doing this and appreciate the due diligence he's given it," Murray
Sebelius has stopped short of making such a promise but has pledged to initiate an agency-by-agency review of state government to find efficiencies.
Graves' slowness to endorse Shallenburger was notable because other prominent moderates, including U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts and U.S. Rep. Jerry Moran, announced their support for Shallenburger shortly after he won the Aug. 6 Republican primary.
ate Republicans is education funding and Shallenburger's promise not to increase taxes.
Graves has said he wanted to be thoughtful about an endorsement, and Shallenburger suggested the governor hadn't had much time to study the primary campaign. Graves leaves office in January.
She has made much of an Aug. 7 statement from Shallenburger that school districts could absorb cuts in spending of 1 percent, 2 percent or 3 percent, if the alternative was raising taxes.
Shallenburger said yesterday that he was speaking in the context of Graves' plan to cut the current budget and doesn't want or intend to cut spending on schools.
"He and Tim have had a series of discussions with the intent of an endorsement all along," said GOP State Chairman Mark Parkinson. "Just to come out and blanet endorse everybody just
The figure was 38 percent for Shallenburger, with a margin of error of 3.9 percent.
surveyed said they planned to vote for Sebelius or were leaning toward supporting her.
because they are Republicans is not the governor's style."
Graves scheduled his news conference a day after a media poll said that 55 percent of those
Sebelius hopes to pull moderate Republicans away from Shallenburger to overcome the GOP's traditional advantage in voter registration.
Murray said Graves and Shallenburger talked last week at the Kansas State Fair in Hutchinson and twice on Tuesday during an agriculture tour and dinner in western Kansas.
However, spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran-Basso said Sebelius expected Graves to endorse his fellow Republican, even though Graves and Sebelius have a good working relationship.
Also, last week, Sebelius publicized the formation of a "Republicans for Sebellius" group that includes former Sens. Wint Winter Jr., of Lawrence, and Lillian Papay, of Great Bend.
Sebelius is the insurance commissioner; Shallenburger is the state treasurer.
"We expected this to happen," Corcoran-Basso said. "The only thing that surprised us was that it took until six weeks after the primary."
They had their first post-primary meeting on Sept. 3. Graves skipped a Republican "unity" breakfast in Topeka the morning after the primary.
One sticking point for moder
WSU presents new logo
"When you don't have 'Wichita State Shockers,' you don't promote your city or your university or your athletic department," Schaus said. "It's really difficult for people to know who you are."
The name of the university, in a three-dimensional typeface, stands out boldly in the middle of the new shield-shaped logo, with "Shockers" printed below.
It is the first time Wichita State has had a logo that spells out its name and nickname — the key consideration for Shocker athletic director Jim Schaus.
The new logo also features bolder, more stylized stalks of wheat than the 21-year-old logo it replaces.
New York-based Phoenix Designs Works designed the new logo for $17,000.
WICHITA — Different logo, same mascot.
The Associated Press
Creating a new logo is part of creating a new image for the school, Schaus said.
When Wichita State redesigned its athletic insignia, some Shockers fans might have feared that their beloved WuShock would be altered as well.
"I think we've revised a little bit of the way we're going to think about ourselves and maybe the way people are going to think about us," he said.
But WuShock who underwent a transformation four years ago—was on hand Tuesday to unveil the school's new-look logo.