Pre-trial publicity an issue in trial of LaPorte County woman accused of killing newborn

by Leanne Tokars (ltokars@wsbt.com)

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Kathy Phillips appeared in LaPorte County court, charged with death of newborn

Kathy Phillips appeared in court on Feb. 26, 2008. She is charged with murder and neglect of a dependent in the death of a newborn found two years ago near her LaPorte County home. (WSBT photo)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Feb 26, 2008 at 6:44 PM EST

Story Updated: Feb 26, 2008 at 6:44 PM EST

LaPORTE CO. — The trial of a mother accused of killing her newborn baby may take a whole lot longer. Tuesday, a judge set special guidelines in the jury selection for Kathy Phillips.

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Phillips' attorney wanted the judge to call in a jury from a different county. His concern is pre-trial publicity, specifically what has been written about this case in blogs online.

“I believe that this alleged offense occurred in the county of LaPorte in the state of Indiana, and I believe the residents of the count of LaPorte in the state of Indiana should in fact hear this case,” said LaPorte County Prosecutor Robert Beckman.

But Kathy Phillips' defense lawyer argues that that jury pool would be biased, based on what he calls inflammatory comments written online.

Phillips is charged with murder and neglect of a dependent in the death of Baby Jane Doe.

The newborn was found two years ago, wrapped in a plastic bag near Phillips’ LaPorte County home.

But can an online blog be considered publicity? And how many potential jurors actually saw it?

"People can say anything, it doesn't necessarily mean they believe it. It surely doesn't mean that other people who might hear it, or read it, believe it,” Beckman said. “The idea is, can we get a fair jury from this county? Not whether somebody may have heard something which they are perfectly capable of ignoring."

So the judge decided that instead of calling in a jury from out of the county, they’ll start with a larger jury pool in LaPorte County. They'll call 90 potential jurors instead of the usual 60. They'll have them answer a short questionnaire. And each side — both the defense and prosecution — will have more strikes, meaning they'll have the ability to excuse more jurors.

It's in the hope of weeding out those potential jurors who may have a bias due to the information that’s already been released about this case.

Kathy Phillips declined to make any comment Tuesday. Her trial is set to start next month.

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