The Free Lance–Star: Blanton’s retrial slated for Monday:
The retrial for the Caroline County woman charged with killing her state trooper husband will start Monday in Virginia Beach.
[…]
Tony Spencer, commonwealth’s attorney, said the trial should last about eight days, and 240 potential jurors have been summoned for the first day of jury selection.
The trial is set to begin at 9:30 a.m., according to online court records.
[…]
She won an appeal last year, however, based on the grounds that Harvey Latney, who was the commonwealth’s attorney at the time, showed bias in picking his jury.
Well, to be more specific there was the complaint that the court: “permit[ed] the Commonwealth to use all of its peremptory strikes against five white females without supplying a gender-neutral reason”.
Blanton’s attorney also argued that the court: “refus[ed] to strike Juror 12 due to his relationship with the Commonwealth’s Attorney”. That issue wasn’t addressed since it began a moot point after the whole jury was thrown out.
Donna L. Blanton v. Commonwealth of Virginia, Record No. 1955-05-2
[…]
In November, Judge Horace A. Revercomb tried to seat a jury for the retrial in Caroline, but after two days of jury selection, was unable to find enough people who didn’t know about the case.
Campbell said knowledge of the case’s history will be the concern again in Virginia Beach.
“The bar is set higher for a retrial,” he said. “If they even know she was ever tried and convicted, they can’t sit on the jury.”
Yes, the truth is bad for defense attorneys (and the people they represent).
UPDATE: Great, we made the AP: Retrial set for woman charged with killing trooper husband