51.   The session was considered so inflammatory the jury was sequestered before it started.

52.   Federal Judge Michael Mukasey said meanwhile he would sequester the jury to avoid outside influence or distraction during deliberations, expected in mid-September.

53.   The trial has so far cost California taxpayers eight million dollars, most of it for sequestering the jury.

54.   Ito will also have to decide whether to sequester the jury for the duration of the trial.

55.   Prosecutors were also to argue that the jury should be sequestered for the duration of the trial expected to last some six months.

56.   The defense had said it would not object to broadcasting the trial if the jury were not sequestered.

57.   The judge on Wednesday however refused to sequester the jury and instead instructed them to avoid watching or reading reports of the Oklahoma bomb attack.

58.   The jury was being sequestered during its deliberations.