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Trial will stay in Kern

This story originally appeared January 27, 2007

By JESSICA LOGAN, Californian staff writer
e-mail: jlogan@bakersfield.com | Friday, Feb 16 2007 12:43 PM

Last Updated: Friday, Feb 16 2007 12:43 PM

Vincent Brothers' trial will stay in Kern County because pretrial publicity has not tainted the jury pool, a judge ruled Friday.

Kern County Superior Court Judge Michael Bush ruled that Brothers will be tried in Kern County for the deaths of his wife, three children and mother-in-law.

Defense attorneys Michael Gardina and Anthony Bryan wanted the trial moved to Los Angeles County because, Bryan said, pretrial publicity prejudiced Kern residents against Brothers.

The judge made the ruling after retired law and sociology professor Edward Bronson testified for two days that media coverage of Brothers in Kern County is inflammatory.

Bronson said he expected to be paid more than $19,000 in taxpayer money for surveying potential jurors on their views of the case and testifying about his findings.

Deputy District Attorney Lisa Green revealed flaws in the survey, including the fact that Bronson accidentally inflated the number of stories published in The Californian.

Bronson admitted there are flaws in his work, but said they do not change his opinion.

The professor said Bakersfield's small-town feel makes it even harder for Brothers to get a fair trial. He said Bakersfield has a large population, but people were likely to discuss the case with each other.

Bush found the professor's theory untrue because about half the people in the county are not linked to Bakersfield. Jurors have been called from as far away as Rosamond and Ridgecrest.

Bronson was particularly critical of a local radio talk show host who said "this guy gets exterminated, that's what I hope for."

Green blamed Brothers for stoking media fire when he wrote a letter to The Californian denying his own attorney's suggestions that his wife was having a lesbian relationship.

"He brought that on himself," Green said.

The judge also ruled Friday the public will be allowed to view questionnaires jurors filled out about media exposure and the death penalty within a day of when each juror is questioned.

The defense and prosecution didn't want the public to see these questionnaires until after the jury was seated for fear the jurors wouldn't give complete answers if they knew they might be published.

But the judge agreed with Californian attorney Thomas Burke that keeping questionnaires from the public would violate the law.

Brothers, a former vice principal, is accused of killing his wife, Joanie Harper; their three children, Marques, Lyndsey and Marshall; and Joanie Harper's mother, Earnestine.

Brothers has pleaded not guilty.

His family was found dead on July 8, 2003, and he was arrested in April 2004 on suspicion of committing the murders.

On Monday, the judge will start the second phase of jury selection when he attempts to select jurors who can fairly decide a death penalty case.

The trial is set to begin in February.