Here's the latest Rex Rammell news, via the Idaho Falls Post Register and the Associated Press: A state judge has delayed the poaching trial of former gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell to investigate if Rammell broke another law when he handed out leaflets to potential jurors in the case as they were entering the courthouse, offering them advice it said "judges may not tell you." Really. Click below for the full report.

Rammell trial delayed pending new investigation

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — A state judge has delayed the poaching trial of former gubernatorial candidate Rex Rammell to investigate if Rammell broke another law when he handed out leaflets to potential jurors in the case.

Rammell was scheduled to go on trial this week on a misdemeanor charge that he illegally shot and killed a cow elk in eastern Idaho last year. He has pleaded not guilty and will act as his own attorney when the trial resumes.

But for now, Bonneville County sheriff detectives are investigating if fliers passed out by Rammell on Thursday to potential jurors entering the courthouse violates a statute against willfully influencing a jury.

Prosecutors say Rammell, who ran and lost in the Republican primary for governor last May, distributed fliers with information pulled from a website operated by the Fully Informed Jury Association.

"Handing out (fliers to jurors) is potentially a crime, but we will treat that like any other case," Pickett told the Post-Register.

According to state law, anyone who corruptly attempts to influence a juror can be charged with a felony. The statute defines the crime to include threats and bribes, but also efforts to influence a juror with oral or printed material outside the courtroom.

Rammell claims the material his harmless and designed only to inform jurors of their rights. The first sentence of the flier states: "Judges may not tell you this, but when you sit on a jury, you have the right to vote according to your conscience and to judge the law being applied to the case," the newspaper reported.

"I would hand it out at other trials, too," he said. "I think the First Amendment clearly protects me."

Sgt. Jeff Edwards said investigators have requested a list of 105 jurors to contact and determine if Rammell spoke to any of them when he passed out the fliers. Rammell denies he said anything to the potential jurors.

As jury questioning began Thursday, most of the prospective jurors packing the courtroom raised their hands when asked who had received the fliers.

Bonneville County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bevilacqua asked jurors whether they would be influenced by the handout.

"A jury's role is not to make laws but to follow the laws as instructed by the judge and apply them to the facts," he said.

An hour later, Rammell met with prosecutors and 7th District Magistrate Judge Stephen Clark and asked that the trial be delayed. A new start date has not yet been set.

Rammell, who also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2008, was charged in December with being in illegal possession of an elk. Idaho Fish and Game wardens say Rammell had a hunting permit for a zone different from the one where he had been hunting. The tag has also expired in October.

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Information from: Post Register, http://www.postregister.com

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.