Last Friday, Judge Jean Wetenkamp was assigned to the trial.
Judge Wetenkamp started the trial this morning. The schedule was discussed, and she accepted written prosecution and defense pretrial motions. She will look at them the rest of today, and tomorrow morning at 9 am she will meet again (in open court) to discuss the motions further. She has allowed Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday (January 14, 15, and 16) to resolve the motions.
Judge Wetenkamp is going on vacation starting January 19 and will return on January 28. Jury selection is expected to begin on January 29. Jury selection could take as little as two days and as much as four. If jury selection is completed in two days, Opening Statements would start on Monday, February 2. If jury selection is not complete, opening statements will be delayed.
The prosecutor expects to take 5 days to present his witnesses (week of February 2), and the defense expects to take 1 day (February 9). Working out jury instructions will take one day and Closing Arguments at the earliest could begin on February 11.