BUFFALO, N.Y. — A federal judge has set a start date for the death penalty trial of the self-proclaimed white supremacist gunman who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo grocery store on May 14, 2022.
Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo cautioned that the trial date isn't as "set in stone" as other cases, adding it could be moved forward or backward depending on how long other steps in the process take.
The trial date was set for Sept. 8, 2025.
"This is a date that I think is realistic," Judge Vilardo said during a Friday appearance at the Robert H. Jackson Courthouse in Buffalo.
When asked to speculate how long the trial could last, the prosecution said it could take anywhere from five to six weeks but said picking a death-qualified jury could take three to four months.
The defense said they were not in a position to say how long in total the trial could last but agreed that three to four months for jury selection is "pretty ballpark."
Ahead of selecting a trial date, Judge Vilardo, the defense, and the prosecution worked out a schedule for the various motions and proceedings that would have to happen beforehand.
The prosecution sought a more aggressive timeline for the case to head to trial and suggested in court that discovery motions would start next month. Judge Vilardo said that would be "unreasonable" to expect.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Tripi argued that the defense has had ample time with discovery materials in their possession since December 2022.
It was not enough to convince Judge Vilardo who opted for discovery motions to start two months later in May 2024 with oral arguments sometime in June 2024.
Those proceedings would be followed by capital motions starting, in a staggered fashion in June 2024 with a hearing or oral arguments sometime in September 2024.
After discovery and capital would come pre-trial motions.
Attorney MaryBeth Covert, who is part of the public defender team representing the gunman informed Judge Vilardo that they anticipate pre-trial motions could take as long as 6 months, which would include consideration for a change of venue and the weighing of victim impact statements.
Pre-trial procedures other than venue and victim impact matters are set to begin in November 2024 and would run through the end of the year.