HARTFORD -
A Superior Court judge today decided to combine the two criminal cases against Mayor Eddie A. Perez and scheduled his trial to start in May 2010.
Judge Julia Dewey said jury selection would begin the first week in April, and told Perez's attorney, Hubert Santos, that there would be no more delays.
"I've given you your time frame and there should be no other excuses," Dewey said.
Prosecutors sought to combine the cases into a single trial, which Santos opposed.
Perez, the focus of an 18-month state investigation into allegations of corruption at city hall, was arrested twice this year, in January on bribery-related charges and in September on charges relating to attempted extortion. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
After Perez was arrested in January, Santos called for a quick trial. But Santos says now that the mayor's second arrest has complicated matters.
Santos, in a court filing, objected to combining the cases, contending there was a large amount of evidence to review, that he has a full trial calendar through the end of the year, and that consolidating the two cases would mean a lengthy trial. That would mean a jury of "retirees, state workers or employees of large corporations" that wouldn't allow Perez to "be judged in part by the minority community that he serves" — those who hold jobs and can't afford to spend weeks at a trial.
Santos said there are "few, if any efficiency advantages to the consolidation of two complex trials into one enormously complex trial," he wrote in a court filing.
Judge Julia Dewey said jury selection would begin the first week in April, and told Perez's attorney, Hubert Santos, that there would be no more delays.
"I've given you your time frame and there should be no other excuses," Dewey said.
Prosecutors sought to combine the cases into a single trial, which Santos opposed.
Perez, the focus of an 18-month state investigation into allegations of corruption at city hall, was arrested twice this year, in January on bribery-related charges and in September on charges relating to attempted extortion. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
After Perez was arrested in January, Santos called for a quick trial. But Santos says now that the mayor's second arrest has complicated matters.
Santos, in a court filing, objected to combining the cases, contending there was a large amount of evidence to review, that he has a full trial calendar through the end of the year, and that consolidating the two cases would mean a lengthy trial. That would mean a jury of "retirees, state workers or employees of large corporations" that wouldn't allow Perez to "be judged in part by the minority community that he serves" — those who hold jobs and can't afford to spend weeks at a trial.
Santos said there are "few, if any efficiency advantages to the consolidation of two complex trials into one enormously complex trial," he wrote in a court filing.
