Judge hopes to have Nichols jury seated today

ATLANTA - Lawyers in the Atlanta courthouse shooting case appear ready to begin striking a jury for the murder trial of Brian Nichols.

Superior Court James Bodiford is seeking to have a 12-member jury with six alternates chosen by the end of the day today.

The final phase of jury selection began July 10.

Opening statements in the trial are scheduled to begin Monday.

Nichols is accused of killing four people in a 2005 rampage that began at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta. He will be tried in the deaths of a judge, court reporter and sheriff's deputy at the courthouse on March 11, 2005, and killing a federal agent in Atlanta later that day.