Wells trial set to begin today

The fate of Monroe County Councilman Scott Wells is now in the hands of a six person jury, two men and four women, chosen in a Friday hearing.\n"I'm very happy with the jury," Defense attorney Elizabeth Cure said. "They seemed like a good group of people. The prosecution wants someone who will listen to them and convict, and we want someone who will listen to us and acquit."\nThe state has charged Wells with misdemeanor battery, operating while intoxicated, resisting law enforcement and disorderly conduct. The charges resulted from a Sept. 27, 2002 traffic stop by the Indiana State Police. Last week some charges were dropped and others reduced from their previous felony status. \nWells, a Democrat, has insisted since his arrest that he was set up and assaulted by state police in a character assassination plot.\nJury selection took nearly all of Friday, and the trial begins today. Potential jurors were questioned by the prosecution and defense attorneys.\nQuestions from Special Prosecutor Stan Levco weeded out possible jurors who believed a set-up was a defense to criminal activity. If Wells is guilty of the charges, Levco said he wants to make sure jurors would convict independent of a set-up.\nColeman and Cure asked possible jurors about their ability to assume Wells completely innocent until proven otherwise. Questions measured potential juror response to a defense geared to put Republican radicals on trial.\n"Because this case has received a lot of publicity, we want to make sure the potential jurors can presume innocence," Coleman said. \nOne possible juror's lack of knowledge concerning the case drew an ear-to-ear smile from the defendant.\n"When I first saw the parties involved I'd never seen Scott Wells before and didn't know who he was," one potential juror said. "In fact I thought he was part of the (legal) council."\nSpecial Judge Frank Nardi questioned 40 potential jurors individually to keep them from polluting each others' views on the case. The Owen County judge was assigned the case to avoid a conflict of interest produced by Wells' county councilman position.\nNardi asked what possible jurors knew from media publicity and if they could assess the case based on what they heard in the courtroom and not what they already knew.\nThe jury pool was reduced to 20 when possible jurors were dismissed for their pre-knowledge of the case, or uncontrollable bias.\nAccording to State Police reports, the incident began when Bud Bernitt, a political enemy of Wells called off-duty state trooper and then-Republican sheriff candidate J.D. Maxwell. Bernitt told Maxwell he had seen Wells in downtown Bloomington urinating in public and stumbling to his car. Maxwell relayed the message to the State Police post. Two state troopers were dispatched to the area of Sixth and Dunn Streets where they waited for Wells, tailed him, and pulled him over.\nDuring his arrest, trooper Stacy Brown asked Wells to take a Breathalyzer test. Wells insisted the test be administered at the Monroe County Jail. Wells said he feared the results would be tainted if the test was done in front of only Brown. Police reports show Wells blew a .075 on the breath machine, just below the legal limit of .08.\nWells' defense team of David Coleman and Elizabeth Cure originally made a motion to disqualify the 80-person jury panel because it wasn't a representation of Monroe County.\n"Monroe County has a population of 120,000 people, of which between 30,000 and 40,000 are students at Indiana University," the motion stated. "A truly random jury-selection process for Monroe County should result in no fewer than 20 students from Indiana University." \nThe original jury pool consisted of 80 prospective jurors, none of them being IU undergraduate students between the ages of 18-22. One was a continuing studies student, but she was the only possible juror less than 30 years old.\nNardi first ruled to accept a motion to bring in younger jurors, but later overturned that motion. According to a deposition, Nardi overturned his decision because forcing in more IU students would have severely upset the way jury selection is run in Monroe County. Currently juries are randomly selected from county residents' driving records, property tax returns and voter registration, all unlikely to produce student jurors. \nLisa Abraham is the Monroe County jury coordinator. She testified that the random, computerized selection jury selection may not always include students. \nWells said he's convinced those behind a plot of "deception and destruction" will be exposed over the coming week. \n"I'm satisfied with the jury," Wells said. "But my innocence is not the only thing that's going to come to light during this trial."\nThe trial begins at 10 a.m. Monday in the Monroe County courthouse meeting room; the same room where Wells' bi-monthly county council meetings are held.\nThe trial is expected to last until Friday, but if it does last longer it may have to be delayed once again. Levco has a legal conflict with a case in his home of Vanderburgh County, where he is the prosecutor.\nLevco said he will probably need two days to present his case. Coleman and Cure said they would need longer to call key witnesses including several eye witnesses, among them, Bud Bernitt.\n-- Contact senior writer Mitch Blacher at mblacher@indiana.edu.