Tuesday, July 2, 1996

DALLAS (AP) - Opening statements in Michael Irvin's cocaine possession trial were delayed this morning while attorneys argued over the admissibility of a statement given to a police sergeant.

After about 2-1/2 hours discussing the matter behind closed doors, there was nearly another 30 minutes of debate in the courtroom before State District Judge Manny Alvarez delayed proceedings by four hours until 1:30 p.m.

The delay apparently stemmed from the statement Angela Beck gave Irving Sgt. Mike Kiere. Beck is one of two topless dancers indicted with the Dallas Cowboys star stemming from an incident at an Irving motel room March 4.

Beck claimed ownership of the drugs during the bust and was the only one arrested. A grand jury later indicted Beck, Irvin and Jasmine Nabwangu. Irvin also is indicted on a misdemeanor marijuana charge.

Kiere was in the courtroom while attorneys held a sidebar discussions with Alvarez.

Lead prosecutor Mike Gillett, a Dallas County assistant district attorney, said he did not believe that Kiere was trustworthy.

Defense attorney Royce West said he wasn't sure whether he was going to call Kiere to the stand, but he told Alvarez he "wanted to make sure I won't be in contempt if I do."

Alvarez appeared frustrated as the discussions lengthened, at one point saying, "We've been talking about this for the last three hours."

He finally called for the lunch break and told defense attorneys to make a decision by the time they return. Alvarez said a decision one way could lead to a hearing; otherwise, the case could continue, presumably with opening statements.

"We might change our opening statements based on what you say," defense attorney Ron Goranson told Alvarez.

Goranson was on the attack Monday as he led the defense's opposition to the fact the jury includes 10 whites. The other two jurors are a black woman convicted of marijuana possession two years ago, and an Asian woman.

The 12-person jury is split with six men and six women. All six men are white, as are four of the women. Both alternates are women, the first is black and the other white.

During a hearing about the racial makeup of the jury, Goranson charged that prosecutors had set race relations back to the pre-civil rights era.

"It's clear what's happening in this case: We're going back to the '50s," attorney Ron Goranson said. "We're going to remain there until trial judges ... say, 'You cannot pull that in my court.' "

Alvarez was not swayed and let the panel stand. It took five days for a jury to be seated and Alvarez said he did not immediately plan to sequester them, although that could change.

Alvarez has repeatedly admonished jurors to ignore news coverage about the case. Media attention has increased since last Thursday, when a then-Dallas police officer subpoenaed to testify in the trial was arrested for allegedly hiring a hit man to kill Irvin. The man reportedly was upset that Irvin allegedly was threatening his girlfriend, who also was subpoenaed.

Defense attorneys fought Monday because prosecutors used their jury strikes to eliminate four of five black potential jurors.

Assistant district attorney Aaron Wiley said his choices were not based on color but instead because two knew West, one was a probation officer and because one had previously served on a hung jury.
Wiley added that the woman who had been on a hung jury also had been arrested for being in a fight 31 years ago.

West, however, questioned how someone whose record stems from an incident when she was a teen-ager would be chosen over someone with a recent conviction for a more germane issue.

"It's highly suspect when someone is left on a jury who has been convicted of dope possession," West said.

West, a state senator, also said it was unfair that a potential juror was stricken on the grounds that she knew him simply because she had received campaign literature from him.

But assistant district attorney Shannon Ross pointed out that three jurors and one alternate also live in West's district yet did not say they knew him. Among those four is the woman with the marijuana conviction.

"It is hideously frustrating for us to pick a jury ... then have to explain our motives," Ross said.
"This isn't anything but a show for the press that the defense lawyers are putting on.

"I think it's clear none of the strikes are by a racial motivation."

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