Delbarton asked to delay sex abuse trial, calling jury pool 'tainted'

A last-ditch attempt by attorneys representing the Delbarton School in its clergy sexual abuse case has failed.

On the eve of a landmark trial against the elite Morris County private school, its lawyer wrote to a state Superior Court judge on Aug. 27 requesting a delay and warning media coverage of the case has "irreversibly tainted the jury pool."

As an alternative, Morristown attorney James Barletti wrote, potential jurors should be selected from outside of the region, since local residents would be more likely to have read recent reports about the case.

"Anything less would deny Delbarton and OSBNJ of their right to a fair trial," Barletti said, referring to the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, the Catholic order that runs the school and nearby St. Mary's Abbey.

Nonetheless, o