The trial was suspended during jury selection in October because of problems funding Nichols' defense. Those problems have not been completely resolved, but Judge James Bodiford has sought to move the case along.

The case will resume with the same jury pool on a date roughly midway between what prosecutors and defense attorneys had sought. At the hearing Monday, prosecutors asked that the trial resume June 16 while the defense wanted a Sept. 8 date.

"This case needs a start date, a real start date," Bodiford said. Now, the question is where to hold the trial.

Up until now, the plan was to hold the trial in the Fulton County Courthouse complex, where the March 11, 2005, shooting spree began.

Defense lawyers had previously asked that the trial be moved to another location in the county, but that request was denied by the previous judge overseeing the case because no other courthouse was suitable or was willing to host the trial.