Jury Selection Starts in 2nd Lam Murder Trial

The second trial for the 21-year-old Vietnamese student accused of murder in the death of Cal State Fullerton professor Edward Lee Cooperman began in Orange County Superior Court Wednesday.

New attorneys on both sides agreed that the evidence will not be much different from that presented in Minh Van Lam’s first trial last month.

Jury selection began Wednesday and should be completed today. Opening statements and the first prosecution witnesses are expected next Monday.

Deadlock in First Trial

The first trial ended in a hung jury, with nine jurors voting to convict Lam of involuntary manslaughter and three voting to acquit. The three holdouts wanted acquittal on all charges.

Lam has admitted shooting the 48-year-old physics professor, who died of a wound from a .25-caliber handgun last Oct. 13. But Lam claims the gun went off accidentally when the professor grabbed his right arm to show him how to aim the weapon.

The first jury voted unanimously against a first-degree murder verdict. Judge Richard J. Beacom, who heard the first trial, eliminated the first-degree charge from the second trial, over which he is also presiding.

The new prosecutor is James Enright, chief of the district attorney office’s homicide panel, who replaces Deputy Dist. Atty. Mel Jensen.

Lawyer Chastised

Also, longtime Orange County criminal lawyer George Chula represented Lam on Wednesday instead of Chula’s partner, Alan May, who handled the first case.

May is still Lam’s main trial attorney. But Chula said he will handle jury selection and probably the opening statement.

Beacom chastised May after the first trial for making statements concerning Cooperman’s conduct prior to his death, and then charged that May later failed to prove his allegations.

Chula joked to reporters after court Wednesday that “I may have to wrestle him (May) for it, but I’m going to make the opening statement.”

May tried to stop Beacom from hearing the second case because of the judge’s public rebuke of him. But Presiding Judge Everett W. Dickey turned down May’s request. May said later that he could have filed other motions to block Beacom, but he decided against doing so.

May claims that Lam should not have to stand trial for second-degree murder because the first jury was willing to give Lam no more than involuntary manslaughter.

“It would mean that Minh would be unfairly punished because three jurors at the first trial sided too strongly with us,” May said. “If those three had gone for involuntary, he would not have to worry about any murder charges,” the attorney added.

Beacom, however, denied May’s motion two weeks ago that the prosecution not be allowed to seek a second-degree murder conviction.

Beacom said May’s performance turned the first trial into such “a circus” that it was no wonder jurors could not make up their minds how to vote.