Opposing lawyers in the federal Unabomber case are working on agreements that could cut in half the length of the potentially costly trial, The Sacramento Bee has learned.
Defense lawyers have proposed a series of "stipulations" or agreements between the parties designed to streamline the trial of Theodore Kaczynski, accused of being the serial bomber who eluded authorities for nearly 18 years.The defense, led by Quin Denvir and Judy Clarke, is not proposing to stipulate that Kaczynski is the Unabomber, sources close to the case said. Rather, his lawyers would agree under the arrangement that many of the bombings took place and would not dispute the government's evidence to that effect.
The defense also would agree to the chain of custody of physical evidence and results of laboratory testing of bomb parts and packing components - eliminating the need for many hours of testimony from government witnesses on those points.
A meeting of the minds could cut the estimated length of the trial from six months to three.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin at the end of this month in the trial of Kaczynski, 55, who is charged in Sacramento with four bombings, two of them fatal.
The charges related to the explosion that killed California Forestry Association President Gilbert Murray in 1995 carry the possibility of the death penalty. Kaczynski is also accused of bombings that killed computer store owner Hugh Scrutton in 1985 and maimed university professors Charles Epstein and David Gelernter in 1993.