Bulger Lawyer To Ask For Trial Delay

Mobster James "Whitey" Bulger's lawyer said Monday he will seek to delay the start of Bulger's trial.

Defense attorney J. W. Carney Jr. told Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler he plans to file a motion asking to push back the trial, which is now scheduled to begin in March.

Carney said the defense can't possibly finish reviewing the massive volume of documents in the case until at least May. More than 300,000 documents have been turned over by prosecutors.

Carney has complained repeatedly that prosecutors have turned over documents in a disorganized and redundant way. On Monday, he said prosecutors had given the defense many versions of some documents, with various amounts of material redacted, forcing the defense to go through each version.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Kelly, however, said prosecutors have complied with a defense request to turn over all documents related to Bulger and "shouldn't have to organize their discovery for them."

Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, is accused of participating in 19 murders. He fled Boston in 1994 and remained one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives until his capture in Santa Monica, Calif., last year.

Carney has said Bulger will testify about his claim he was given immunity to commit crimes while he was an informant.

Bowler ordered Carney to meet with prosecutors after the hearing in an attempt to resolve conflicts over the pre-trial discovery materials. She scheduled another status conference for Nov. 1.