Trial for the Murder of Officer Richard May

Friday, February 27, 2009
People vs. Alberto Alvarez - Murder of Officer Rich May

This page will carry the daily report from the murder trial; Officer Richard May was shot and killed on duty, January 7, 2006.

The jury trial is scheduled to formally start on Monday, March 2, 2009 9:00 A.M. before Judge Craig Parsons. There is one interim date of February 23, 2009 9:00 before Judge Parsons placed on the court calendar by the defense for final discovery compliance complaints.

The trial is ready to proceed on March 2, 2009 .

March 2, 2009 to March 20, 2009: Hearings on the trial motions to determine the evidence he will allow each side to present at the trial.

March 23, 2009: The start of jury selection. Judge Parsons has not yet announced what procedure he will use, but generally jury selection in this type of case (death penalty) takes four to six weeks. Approximately 600 prospective jurors will be called - The DA will need to find jurors who can afford to sit for a two month trial and who are impartial on the issues to be presented in the case.

The start of the guilt phase of the trial with opening statements and calling witnesses is probably sometime in late April or even into the beginning of May.

This schedule will be refined as Judge Parsons determines how he will proceed with the trial. Judge Parsons already determined that the trial will be in session Monday through Thursday with court not in session on Fridays. That is very typical for a case of this duration.

UPDATES as the trial starts.Questions - send a note to rick@officerrichardmay.org