Courtroom Drama Will Be Played Out For Small Audience Ex-Deputy’s Trial Set In Courtroom With Limited Seating

Spokane’s murder trial of the year is set to start next week, crammed into the county’s smallest courtroom.

By Monday, Superior Court Judge Neal Rielly must decide what to do if too many people come to his court to watch the murder trial of ex-sheriff’s Deputy Tom DiBartolo.

The case has drawn unrelenting media and community interest - partly because DiBartolo, 42, has said two black men were responsible for the murder of his wife, Patty. Prosecutors say DiBartolo killed his wife of 19 years to avoid a divorce and get insurance money.

Rielly, who hopes to end jury selection today, said he’s going to reserve some of the seats in his courtroom for members of the media and DiBartolo’s family. Under normal conditions, the courtroom holds about 28 people, not counting jurors, attorneys and security guards. It has the fewest gallery seats of all the Spokane County courtrooms.

Rielly tried to find another courtroom, knowing four weeks ago the trial might cause a seating crush.

But the trial, expected to last four to six weeks, would create too large a disruption for other Superior Court judges, Rielly said.

“How many family members will want to be there I’m still not sure,” Rielly said. “The DiBartolos are a large family.”

Many members of the immediate family won’t be permitted inside the courtroom because they’re listed as witnesses. They must remain outside before and after they testify.

The witness list includes all five DiBartolo children - Jonathan, Lindsay, Katrina and Nicholas, and Michele Robinson.

Rielly said he’ll set aside about a half-dozen seats for the media.

How many seats will be left for the public depends on how many family members wish to attend, he added.

If more people want to attend than there are available seats, the judge said he’ll devise a seating system.

County Prosecutor Jim Sweetser said he has not seen another trial that needed seating control.

But at the same time, he said, no trial this publicized has been held in a courtroom this small.

During the past week, several college students and members of the public have visited Rielly’s court to watch jury selection.

On Tuesday, students from Gonzaga University and Eastern Washington University watched the proceedings.

Jury selection, which started last week, is expected to end late this afternoon.

About 50 jurors out of more than 120 interviewed have been qualified as unbiased.

After 12 jurors and four alternates are selected, attorneys will need two or three days to resolve evidence issues during pretrial hearings.

Opening statements won’t start until Monday or Tuesday at the earliest, said Rielly.

, DataTimes