On Eve of Bulger Trial, Lawyers and Court Officials Make Final Preparations

With jury selection in the trial of reputed mobster James "Whitey" Bulger set to begin Tuesday, lawyers and court officials Monday were completing preparations for what's arguably one of the most significant court stories in Boston's history.

Federal prosecutors and Bulger's attorneys were scheduled to meet Monday with U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper for a final pretrial conference, according to the Boston Herald.

At the pretrial conference, Casper will consider a number of what the Herald, quoting attorney Steven Boozang, called "hail mary" motions from Bulger's defense team.

As the newspaper reports, the motions seek to restrict testimony from family members of alleged victims, strike the phrase "The Bulger Group" from the trial and permit the defense team to question the use of convicted criminals, like Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi and John Mortorano, as witnesses.

The strategy behind the defense team's motions, according to the Boston Herald, is "to gain control of the mobster’s image in front of the jury."

Find the Herald article here.

As for the jury, selecting people to serve on the court panel will be a challenge, the Boston Globe reports.

Jury selection begins Tuesday, and Casper has outlined an ambitious schedule for vetting and choosing 18 people to serve, according to the Globe.

The newspaper said the federal court has called a pool of 675 potential jurors, and each of them will fill out a 13-page questionnaire to help Casper and attorneys screen jury members.

Casper hopes to screen potential jurors this week, and she's scheduled opening statements for June 10, the Globe reported.

The trial is expected to last about three months, and testimony will continue into September, the Globe says. It will be a challenge to find 18 people—12 jurors and 6 alternates—who will be impartial in such a high profile and publicized case and who are able to spend the entire summer away from work.

Find the Globe article here.

Meanwhile, security at the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse will be tight, the Boston Herald says.

U.S. Marshals and Boston Police are "stealthily putting in place measures to guard against everything from glory-seeking vigilantes, to medical contingencies, to potential threats against the judge and jury," the newspapers says.

Read about courthouse security at the Boston Herald.

Bulger, who spent 16 years as a fugitive, is accused of orchestrating 19 murders and perpetrating a number of firearms and racketeering crimes during his time as an alleged mobster in Boston.