Associated Press Hearing delays trial in slaying of abortion doctor By ROXANA HEGEMAN

Associated Press

Hearing delays trial in slaying of abortion doctor

By ROXANA HEGEMAN

WICHITA, Kan. -- The trial set to begin Wednesday for a man who admitted killing one of the nation's few late-term abortion providers was thrown into limbo when the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the judge to reconsider his decision to keep jury selection secret.

The court ruled late Tuesday that Sedgwick County Judge Warren Wilbert did not provide the public and media enough time to respond before he closed the proceedings and sealed the jury questionnaire in the first-degree murder trial of Scott Roeder. The Kansas City, Mo., man is accused of shooting Dr. George Tiller inside a Wichita church in May.

Late Wednesday morning, Wilbert booted reporters from the courtroom during a hearing on the issue, after prosecutors and Roeder's defense lawyers said "sensitive" information about potential jurors would be discussed. It was uncertain how the hearing would affect the start of jury selection, which had already been pushed back to later Wednesday.

The Supreme Court ordered Wilbert to reconsider requests from four media outlets, including The Associated Press, that wanted access. Wilbert wasn't ordered to open the proceedings but was expected to meet with a media attorney, prosecutors and defense lawyers before jury selection began.

On Tuesday, Wilbert allowed the defendant the chance to build a defense based on Roeder's belief that his actions were justified to save unborn children. But the judge said it remained to be seen whether the evidence would suffice to instruct jurors, after the defense rested its case, that they could consider the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter.

"I am going to make every effort to try this case as a criminal, first-degree murder trial," Wilbert said. "Admittedly Mr. Roeder's beliefs may come into play and as a defendant he is entitled to present a defense."