Click to enlarge photos.

Judge James Bodiford brought the gavel down on dial-a-motion stalling by defense lawyers for Brian Nichols, whose trial for the 2005 Fulton courthouse massacre was delayed for more than a year.

"The trial is going to start Thursday," Bodiford, the no-nonsense Cobb Superior Court judge, informed defense lawyers earlier this week. "Here's what's not going to happen: we are not going to continue this case."

Defense lawyers had asked the judge to delay jury selection until a hearing was held on their complaint about alleged misconduct of the district attorney and his office.

The defense also wanted a delay for time to appeal a May decision by a DeKalb judge denying their motion to remove Bodiford from the case - an attempt to redo the removal of the first judge for improper comments.

Prosecutor Christopher Quinn retorted: "They're looking for another way to delay this trial." In essence, Bodiford agreed. He denied the request.

Talk about a no-nonsense judge.

Bodiford also informed the lawyers they would to have to put in nine and a half hours a day, six days a week to get the case tried.

Predictably, that drew objections from the defense. Lead attorney Henderson Hill told the judge at least three of the attorneys were over 50, warning: "When you start burning the candle at both ends like that, there are limits."

It cut no ice with Bodiford. He said he was a month shy of 59, adding: "I'm the oldest one here."

"All I'm doing is asking you to work nine-and-a-half hours every day," he told the lawyers. "I'm convinced this is a rational, reasonable trial schedule and that's the one that we're going to go on."

No ifs, ands or buts this time.

Bodiford said both sides could file and argue motions while jury selection was underway. Clearly, although Bodiford didn't put it this way, the lawyers could file and argue until they were blue in the face, but the trial was going to start Thursday.

And the trial started Thursday.

This judge is not going to brook any more of the delays that stalled the trial more than a year, primarily over money for the defense lawyers, resulting in the state public defender's office running out of funds at one point. Defense costs totaled at least $1.8 million at the end of June 2007 and you can be sure the meter's been running since then.

On Thursday attorney Hill told potential jurors Nichols admits killing the victims but was under a delusion that overpowered his will to resist. This "delusional compulsion" is the basis for Nichols entering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting rampage that took the lives of Fulton Superior Court Judge Rowland K. Barnes, court reporter Julie Brandau, sheriff's deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley and federal agent David Wilhelm.

Now with Judge Bodiford in control, no one should be under any delusion that this trial is not going forward expeditiously.

dmckee9613@aol.com

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