CAN ANY PLACE IN FLORIDA HANDLE THIS JURY SELECTION AND TRIAL?

It became only too clear after 3 1/2 days that finding a jury to try the case of John Couey is going to be difficult, if not impossible, in Central Florida.

Couey is the man accused of kidnapping, raping, and murdering nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford last year. Obviously, there was no way to find an unbiased jury pool in Citrus County, so Circuit Judge Richard A. Howard sought to find a jury in nearby Lake County. Too close. And Couey's admission became an issue, as many said they had heard of it. The admission was ruled inadmissable because detectives failed to follow through on Couey's Miranda rights of an attorney when he requested counsel ("You have a right to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during questioning...")

My guess here is that Judge Howard will have to head to either Jacksonville or South Florida to find a jury pool which has heard less about this case, at least enough to make an unbiased decision based on the evidence at hand. Not that it matters; Couey is guilty as hell, and will get the lethal injection he so clearly deserves. But trying to find a jury anywhere in Central Florida which does not already have an opinion would be wasted time and effort.