State Sen. Roderick Wright’s trial to get underway this week
More than three years after a grand jury indicted state Sen. Roderick Wright on charges of perjury and voting fraud, the Inglewood Democrat’s trial is scheduled to start on Thursday.
Jury selection will begin in the morning on the first day the court is open after the New Year’s Day holiday, according to the court’s calendar. Wright’s attorney, Kevin Winston McKesson, said he will ask for a couple of days’ break between jury selection and opening arguments.
Wright was indicted in September 2010 on eight criminal counts. The counts stem from an investigation by the district attorney’s office, based on a tip. The D.A. has accused Wright of lying about where he lived in order to run for his state Senate seat.
Wright has denied all charges and has insisted he will be exonerated at trial.
Several delays, prompted by appeals involving the indictment, Wright’s legislative schedule and the judge’s busy calendar, among others, kept the trial waiting for an unusually long time.
Wright has served several years in the Legislature. In November 2012 he won a second four-year term to the state Senate, garnering nearly 77% of the vote against a little-known Republican in the strongly Democratic 35th District.
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