Judge Delays Evidence Ruling in Unabomber Case, Cites Publicity

SACRAMENTO — A judge has put off a decision on whether to allow some evidence against Unabomber suspect Theodore Kaczynski, fearing that it would open the material to media coverage that could influence potential jurors.

Prosecutors preparing to try Kaczynski for a Sacramento bombing had asked U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. for an early ruling on whether they could use evidence from Unabomber cases in which Kaczynski is suspected, but not charged.

The evidence includes journal entries and documents seized from Kaczynski’s Montana cabin after his arrest last year.

Prosecutors had sealed much of the evidence and a lawyer representing half a dozen news organizations urged the judge to unseal it.

But Burrell said in a decision released late Monday that news coverage was so intense he decided to delay a decision on the government’s motion until closer to Kaczynski’s scheduled Nov. 12 trial.

“For obvious reasons, utmost care is required to protect Kaczynski’s right to a fair trial,” Burrell wrote. “The telecasted news coverage of the [government] motion alone evinces that Kaczynski’s concern about pretrial publicity is well-founded.”

Media organizations, including Associated Press and four newspapers--the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner and Sacramento Bee--had requested the release of the evidence.

Three people were killed and 23 injured in 16 explosions linked to the Unabomber between 1978 and 1995.

Prosecutors believe Kaczynski, 55, was behind all the explosions, but he faces trial only on four bombings in California, including two fatal blasts in Sacramento. Kaczynski also faces trial in New Jersey in connection with the third fatal bombing.

He could get the death penalty if convicted.