Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508220030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Short
Judge J.F. Ingram took the case under advisement and will rule at a later date.
Hopkins filed a writ of habeas corpus several years ago contending that, because of ineffective counsel, he did not get a fair trial.
Clyde Perdue, one of two Rocky Mount lawyers appointed by the court to represent Hopkins, said it has taken years for several lawyers involved with the case to find and study more than three boxes of documents that have accumulated since Hopkins was tried more than 10 years ago.
Two arguments made by the defense Friday centered on incidents that occurred with the jury before and during Hopkins' 1984 trial.
One involved a potential juror who expressed that she had an opinion in the case when questioned prior to jury selection.
Perdue said the woman was part of the pool of 20 juror candidates required by law. She was struck by the defense and didn't serve on the jury that convicted Hopkins.
In 1985, the state Supreme Court refused to review a request for a new trial based on the situation involving the struck juror.
The other argument involved a juror who once saw Hopkins in shackles during the time he was being tried - an occurrence that could have affected the juror's perception of Hopkins' personality or behavior, Perdue said.
A Franklin County jury convicted Hopkins in 1984 for the murder and abduction of Rose Marie Kretschman of Martinsville.
Her body was found in June 1983 in a patch of woods off Virginia 830 in Callaway.
by CNB