Jury Selected in Supt. Honig’s Conflict Trial
A jury of seven women and five men was selected Thursday in state school chief Bill Honig’s conflict-of-interest trial in Superior Court. Opening statements in the felony case are scheduled for Monday.
The trial will go forward despite complaints from Honig’s attorneys that a ruling by Judge James L. Long gutted the defense’s case.
Long ruled Wednesday that it would be legally irrelevant for Honig to explain to a jury that he was trying to help schoolchildren when he approved more than $337,000 in public funds to pay educators who were working for his wife’s nonprofit consulting firm.
Chief defense attorney Patrick Hallinan initially sought a recess in the trial to appeal Long’s ruling, but changed his mind after researching the issue overnight.
“We’re going to go ahead with it,” Hallinan said. “We have to be creative and get in the salient facts any way possible.”
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