Jury selection is starting over in the high-profile murder trial of Samuel Woodward — accused of stabbing former high-school classmate Blaze Bernstein to death and burying his body near a Lake Forest park — after Woodward’s courtroom outburst last week led to the dismissal of the previous jury pool.
Woodward will not be shackled in court despite the disturbance in front of the previous prospective jurors, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger ruled on Tuesday. But dismissing all the previous prospective jurors and starting with a fresh jury pool is expected to delay the closely watched trial by at least two weeks, if not longer.
The judge during a hearing on Tuesday did not go into detail about the disruption Woodward caused, and those who were in the court at the time — including the previous potential jurors — were asked by the judge not to discuss it with anyone else, according to court records. It occurred about two weeks into the first round of jury selection, which started with a pool of about 400 prospective jurors.
Woodward, who entered the courtroom with his long hair covering his face, appeared calm during Tuesday’s court proceedings. His defense attorney told the judge that Woodward hasn’t been feeling well.
“You had an outburst that was unexpected to say the least,” Judge Menninger said to Woodward.
The judge noted that it was the first time Woodward had been disruptive during more than five years of hearings. On the advice of her courtroom deputies, the judge said she didn’t think it was necessary to start shackling Woodward during court hearings.
But the judge warned Woodward that if any additional disruptions occurred, additional security measures could become necessary.
“We can’t have outbursts, does that make sense to you?” the judge asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Woodward responded.
The new round of jury selection will begin with 100 prospective jurors to be brought in on Wednesday morning…
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