Okla. Poultry Trial Slowed By Constant Squabbling

JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma's pollution trial has gone on for six days, but so far only the lawyers seem to be winning.

The trial has featured more courtroom theatrics than substance, with more than two-dozen attorneys trading barbs and bluster, and an irritable judge who has had to rule on a steady chorus of objections and other legal arguments raised by each side.

On Wednesday, attorneys squabbled for a good chunk of the day over the admissibility of several reports dealing with water quality and pollution from chicken waste.

At one point, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell scolded state attorney Robert Nance for his lack of preparation, noting that the case was more than four years old.

"I haven't had time to do your legal research for you, Mr. Nance," Frizzell boomed.

The poultry companies weren't immune to Frizzell's short temper, either.

Tom Green, an attorney for Tyson Foods Inc. and two of its subsidiaries, stood at the defendants' table to rattle off a series of objections while the state's witness was testifying.