近距离内射合集

Jury selection began Monday in the trial of former New Mexico House Majority Leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton, who resigned her state House seat five years ago amid allegations of public corruption.

Court personnel spent much of the morning quizzing prospective jurors about their knowledge of the case, which has attracted ongoing media attention since Stapleton resigned from the state House of Representatives and her Democratic leadership post in July 2021.

U.S. District Judge James O. Browning told jurors that he expected to seat a jury sometime Monday evening, which would allow attorneys to present opening statement on Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.

Browning asked an initial group of 47 potential jurors to privately share their understanding of the case with federal prosecutors and defense attorneys who huddled around the judge's bench to listen.

About a third of the potential jurors lined up to speak with court personnel out of earshot of other jurors.

Stapleton鈥檚 attorneys asked Browning in April to impanel 200 prospective jurors because of the "intense, consistent media attention" the case has received. Browning expected a total of 120 jurors to show up Monday.

Of the total pool, 47 were present in the courtroom on Monday morning while others waited elsewhere in the courthouse. An additional 13 jurors were ushered into the courtroom on Monday afternoon.

Stapleton, 68, dressed in a light blue jacket, sat at the defense table throughout the morning. Stapleton represented House District 19, east of the University of New Mexico, from 1994 to 2021. Browning said he expects the trial to continue through Aug. 14.

Stapleton, also a former Albuquerque Public Schools official, and her co-defendant, Joseph Johnson, were indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024 on 37 criminal counts, including allegations of bribery, mail fraud and money laundering.

One count of the indictment charges Stapleton and Johnson with conspiring together to defraud the 近距离内射合集 States.

Stapleton and Johnson have pled not guilty to all 37 counts and deny all the allegations.

Johnson, owner of Robotics Management Learning Systems, a Washington, D.C.-based firm, also was present Monday. The federal indictment alleges that Stapleton used her position as coordinator and director of APS鈥檚 Career and Technical Education to direct funding to Robotics for the use of the company鈥檚 software in the classroom.

She then allegedly directed $1,152,506 from Robotics鈥� checking account into accounts she controlled using blank checks provided by Robotics, the indictment alleges. The alleged violations took place from July 2013 to June 2020.

Stapleton's attorney, Ryan Villa, alluded to the complex nature of the case in questions to jurors. He asked if any jurors were biased against Singleton because she was a prominent Democrat and a leader of the New Mexico Legislature for more than two decades.

Villa noted that several prospective jurors were APS teachers and others attended APS schools.

鈥淚s there anyone who feels this just hits a little too close to home?鈥� he asked jurors.

Several jurors responded that they don鈥檛 like policies enacted by the Democratic-led Legislature. Others acknowledged that they were inclined to believe prosecutors鈥� allegations against Stapleton.

鈥淲here there is smoke, there鈥檚 fire,鈥� one juror said. 鈥淕overnment officials use their positions for personal gain.鈥�

Olivier Uyttebrouck covers the court system. You can reach him at olivier@abqjournal.com.