Rod Blagojevich's retrial may not start until next year, and if he wants the public to pay for his defense, he will get only two lawyers -- down from seven.
In a private conference last week, Judge James Zagel told lawyers a quick retrial on the corruption charges wasn't likely because of the logistics of getting a new jury pool.
Zagel said he didn't want to put a "Christmas burden" on jurors, pushing a retrial possibly to January at the earliest, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.
The two lawyers are not likely to be Sam Adam Jr. and Sam Adam Sr., who sources say intend on filing a request to leave the case.
The defense team has drained a $2.8 million campaign fund, leading Blagojevich to possibly turn to public funds. Former federal defender Terence F. MacCarthy said Monday if the public treasury is tapped then the judge is bound by rules that allow for two lawyers at max.
