Whitey Bulger Trial: Opening arguments postponed as jury selection continues in trial of alleged mobster

(CBS/AP) -- As jury selection continues, a U.S. District Court Judge postponed opening arguments in the trial of alleged mobster James "Whitey" Bulger until next Wednesday at the earliest, the Boston Herald reports.

PICTURES: Guns and Money: Whitey Bulger evidence

The judge, Denise J. Casper, reportedly said she wanted to give the prosecution and defense team time to review the 775 13-page juror questionnaires.

Casper said an additional period of review will take place behind closed doors Thursday as lawyers examine claims of "extreme hardship" by the jury pool, the paper reports.

Casper intends to sit a jury of 18 -- including six alternates -- for the trial, which could stretch through the end of September, reports the Herald.

Casper initially said she hoped to complete the selection process Friday, with opening statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys expected on June 10.

Potential jurors will not necessarily be excused from sitting on the jury simply because they have read or heard about Bulger, Casper has said. The "critical issue," she said, is whether they can decide the case based only on evidence presented in court.

Bulger is accused in a broad racketeering indictment of a long list of crimes, including 19 killings, extortion and money-laundering. Authorities say he committed the crimes while he was an FBI informant, but Bulger's lawyers deny that he was ever an informant.

Casper told the first two jury pools that she understands the trial - expected to last three to four months - will be a disruption to their daily lives and may even pose an "extreme hardship" for some people. But she said she will have to balance the needs of jurors with Bulger's right to get a "cross-section of the community" to sit on the jury.

Jurors in the Bulger case won't be sequestered, unlike some other high-profile organized crime trials. However, the seated jurors will be referred to by numbers, and their identities won't be revealed until after the verdict is announced.

Perhaps the biggest challenge will be finding 18 people who can spend the next four months hearing testimony about a long list of allegations against Bulger, including charges that he played a role in killing 19 people.

Bulger, the alleged former leader of the Winter Hill Gang, is now 83 years old.

Complete coverage of the Whitey Bulger trial on Crimesider