Mobster's Lawyer To Argue For Delay In Trial

Lawyers for mobster James "Whitey" Bulger are headed to court to argue that his trial should be delayed until next November.

Bulger, the former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, is accused of playing a role in 19 murders. His trial is scheduled to begin in March, but his lawyers say they need more time to prepare.

They are scheduled to make arguments Thursday to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns, who has twice rejected a defense request that he recuse himself from Bulger's trial.

Bulger's lawyers say Stearns should not preside at Bulger's trial because he was a federal prosecutor during a time in which Bulger claims he was given immunity for crimes he committed while he was also an FBI informant on the Mafia, his gang's main rival.

Bulger's lead attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., has said Bulger plans to testify about his claim that Jeremiah O'Sullivan, a former federal prosecutor who led the New England Organized Crime Strike Force, gave him immunity. O'Sullivan, who died in 2009, denied protecting Bulger from prosecution for serious crimes during his testimony in Congress in 2002.

In a written response denying Carney's motion for the second time, Stearns said there is no connection between his former position as chief of the criminal division of the U.S. Attorney's Office and the organized crime strike force.