LOCAL POLITICS SEEPS INTO C-MURDER TRIAL

A decision on whether to postpone the murder trial of rapper Corey “C-Murder” Miller will not be made until the judge hears word from the state Judiciary Commission, a panel that investigates judicial wrongdoing.      

       Jury selection was scheduled to begin in Louisiana yesterday (Oct. 14). But, the rapper’s attorney Ron Rakosky argued that the trial should be postponed until after the Nov. 4 runoff election because his client’s case has become a campaign issue in the judge’s re-election bid.      

       Judge Martha Sassone, an 18-year-veteran of the 24th Judicial District, read a prepared statement from the bench Tuesday, saying she wanted to avoid an appearance of impropriety, reports the Associated Press.       

       Sassone’s challenger, Ellen Kovach, has criticized her for her rulings in the Miller case. According to New Orleans’ Times-Picayune, Kovach attacked Sassone’s decision to grant Miller a second trial.