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Chris
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Date Posted: 20:11:18 03/10/02 Sun
Panitz media circus expected
The 'Jerry Springer Show' connection to the murder trial has focused attention on Sarasota
IRINA SLUTSKY AND TIM W. MCCANN
Herald Staff Writers
Link to the following article: www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/news/local/2823578.htm
SARASOTA - A deadly love triangle, a high-profile defense attorney and the host of the country's trashiest talk show.
This isn't a teaser for the next episode of the "Jerry Springer Show," but the plot of what could turn out to be Sarasota County's most highly publicized trial since Twigg vs. Mays, a baby-switching case that captured the national spotlight in 1988.
The trial of Ralf Panitz, which begins Monday, has television stations and newspapers from Tampa Bay and beyond clamoring for a spot in the Sarasota County Courthouse. Officials said television stations from Germany and London are among the media planning to attend the two-week trial.
Panitz, 42, a German citizen, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of his former wife, Nancy Campbell-Panitz, 52. She was found dead July 24, 2000, shortly after the Springer show aired an episode exposing the troubled relationship among her, Panitz, and Panitz's current wife, Eleanor.
Prosecutors allege that Panitz beat his ex-wife to death. If convicted, Panitz could spend life in prison.
Defense attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who in 1999 won a $25 million jury award for the family of a slain "Jenny Jones Show" guest and also represented Dr. Jack Kevorkian, says Campbell-Panitz died of a heart attack.
The Springer connection causes officials to expect crowds. Forty-two tickets are available for the public for the morning and afternoon court sessions. Those wanting to attend the morning session should arrive at the courthouse at 7:45 a.m. for tickets and 12:45 p.m. for the afternoon session.
With the trial scheduled for live broadcast on Court TV, Sarasota County court administrator Fay Rice hopes crowds at the courthouse will be thin.
Already, the station has a tent set up on the courthouse lawn for broadcasts.
"Sarasota is on the map once again," Rice quipped.
Court officials braced for a media crush in December, but a judge postponed the trial because the jury panel disobeyed an order not to discuss the case among themselves and potential jurors. Twelve new jurors will hear opening statements Monday.
On Friday, attorneys prepared the last details for trial, including photographing exhibits that are expected to be shown to jurors. Two exhibits include Panitz's shoes and a piece of linoleum stained with a bloody shoe print.
Prosecutors claim the print, along with another shoeprint found on the victim's face, match Panitz's shoe.
Beth Karas, a former Manhattan prosecutor, now a commentator for Court TV, expects a show from Fieger, who she watched while covering the Jenny Jones trial.
Karas called Fieger a "persuasive lawyer who, if allowed, will take control of the entire courtroom."
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