NEW HAVEN - A judge has set a Nov. 16 deadline for defense attorneys to file a motion requesting a delay in jury selection for Steven Hayes, co-defendant in the deadly 2007 Cheshire home invasion.

Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue imposed the deadline Friday during a brief hearing at New Haven Superior Court as arguments continued on a motion to have Hayes' co-defendant Joshua Komisarjevsky held in contempt of court for comments published in a book released on Sept. 29.

Public Defender Thomas Ullmann, who represents Hayes, will have until Nov. 16 to submit any request for delay after he indicated in a Sept. 30 motion - in which he asked the court to hold Komisarjevsky in contempt for violating a court gag order - that the publicity generated by the book was having a negative effect on his client's ability to receive a fair trial.

Author Brian McDonald's book, "In the Middle of the Night: The Shocking True Story of a Family Killed in Cold Blood," uses prison visits with Komisarjevsky and letters that the suspect wrote to McDonald to tell the story of what happened on July 23, 2007, when police said Hayes and Komisarjevsky beat Dr. William Petit and killed his wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and daughters, Hayley and Michaela.

Prosecutors and Komisarjevsky's defense attorneys will then have until Nov. 23 to respond and arguments will be heard on Dec. 10, the same day Blue is expected to hear arguments on whether to release the state Department of Correction files on Komisarjevsky.

Ullmann expressed displeasure with the decision during the hearing, saying his staff would like to see the prison records before filing any motions.

jvallee@record-journal.com
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