A district court judge revealed today that the jury in the trial of former Jack Abramoff lobbying associate Kevin Ring was overwhelmed by the number of e-mails the government used as evidence.

"The wisdom of the [Ring] jury was, 'You gave me way too many e-mails,'' Judge Ellen Huvelle said during a hearing for Horace Cooper, a former legislative and executive branch official who was indicted in August as part of the Abramoff scandal.

Huvelle revealed the information after an attorney for the Department of Justice, Matt Stennes, said that "the bulk of the evidence" in Cooper's case will be e-mails. In Ring's case, jurors were given four large binders filled with evidential documents, which mostly consisted of e-mails sent between Ring, Abramoff, other lobbyists and public officials in the executive and legislative branches.

Huvelle also said that the jurors in Ring's trial "thought the best witness the government had was [Neil] Volz" because he was "the most persuasive."

Volz, a former Team Abramoff lobbyist, is also expected to testify in Cooper's trial, along with another former Abramoff associate, Rodney Lane. In Ring's trial, Volz testified about the lobbying practices at the firm. He pleaded guilty in 2006 for his involvement in the Abramoff scandal and was sentenced to probation, community service and a fine.

Cooper is charged with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and bribery, fraudulent concealment, false statements and obstruction of an official proceeding. He was assigned a public defender, Michelle Peterson, last week after his original attorney, Solomon Wisenberg, said in a hearing last month that Cooper was unable "to make arrangements" for Wisenberg to continue representing him. At today's hearing, Cooper's trial was tentatively scheduled for May.

To date, two individuals related to the Abramoff scandal have gone to trial. Former White House aide David Safavian was found guilty twice, first in 2006 and then in a retrial in 2008, on charges of obstruction of justice and false statements. He was sentenced to a year in jail last month. Ring's case ended in a mistrial last month after the jurors deadlocked on eight counts of conspiracy, honest services wire fraud and illegal gratuities. His retrial is expected to begin in June.

Fraser Verrusio, a former aide to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, is also expected to go to trial for the Abramoff-related charges against him in the coming months. He was indicted in March on three counts of conspiracy, illegal gratuities and false statements. A hearing will be held on Friday about the status of his case.