1/7/09 – Alamo lawyer asks for more time before trial
Arkansas Democrat Gazette
January 7, 2009
Associated Press
Alamo lawyer asks for more time before trial
LITTLE ROCK — A lawyer for jailed evangelist Tony Alamo asked a federal judge Wednesday to delay the preacher’s trial on charges he took underage girls across state lines for sex.
In the motion, John Wesley Hall Jr. of Little Rock said state officials had been investigating Alamo since 2001 and likely had a trove of evidence it would present at trial. Hall said Alamo’s defense team needed time to investigate the five individuals alleging sexual contact with the pastor.
“The defense believes that there is a potential statue of limitations argument as to a few counts that still needs to be explored and resolved before the jury hears about it,” Hall wrote. “The defense has been investigating, but it is time consuming.”
Hall also said he received notice he could serve as a federal juror in the Eastern District of Arkansas during February — the scheduled time for Alamo’s trial. Hall’s motion to U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes notes that the defense lawyer had never received a summons for jury duty before.
“While lawyers and judges may find jurors a necessary evil, it is still a civic duty for the person called and defense counsel really wants to know what they talk about in there,” Hall wrote. “This should really be educational.”
Acting U.S. attorney Debbie Groom said she didn’t immediately know what response her office would take to the request.
“We’ll have to evaluate our position,” she said.