SOMERVILLE, N.J. — Testimony in Jayson Williams' manslaughter trial resumed Monday after an 18-day delay sparked by the prosecution's failure to turn over evidence to the ex-NBA star's defense.

Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman explained the reason for the delay to jurors, who filed into the jury box for the first time since April 1.

Reading from a statement he prepared after consulting with both sides, Coleman told panelists that prosecutors had violated their duty by not giving Williams' legal team a full picture of the examination performed by one of their gun experts.

Specifically, the judge said, they failed to turn over notes and photographs that made it clear that, during his testing, the expert, Larry Nelson, had disassembled the shotgun Williams used to shoot a chauffeur.

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"This information should have been provided by the state long before the trial started," Coleman said, adding, "The defense, you should understand, is not responsible for this delay."

The judge told the jury that as a result, he was allowing the defense to reopen its case.

The panelists had blank faces as the judge spoke to them. Later, as Williams' lawyer questioned Nelson and two other witnesses about the details of the undisclosed evidence, many jurors appeared bored and listless.

The trial is now in its third month. One juror was dismissed during the break, the judge announced Monday, due to the death of her mother. Eleven women and four men remain on the panel.

Gun expert Larry Nelson returned to the stand Monday.

Christopher Adams, a junior member of the defense team, took the stand over the objections of lead prosecutor Steven Lember, who said it was improper for an attorney to testify.

Under questioning from defense lawyer Joseph Hayden Jr., his boss, Adams told jurors that no member of the defense team knew that Nelson took apart the 12-gauge Browning Citori shotgun until the day before the expert was to take the stand as a rebuttal witness.

"Were you aware that there was any secret disassembly of the shotgun by Mr. Nelson?" Hayden asked.

Defense attorney Christopher Adams testifies.

"The disassembly done by Mr. Nelson remained secret until after we rested our case," said Adams.

Nelson followed the attorney to the stand. At the request of the defense, the judge deemed him a hostile witness, which enabled Hayden to ask him leading questions.

The chief engineer of Browning Arms, Nelson told jurors that he normally submits notes and photographs with reports, but that Lember specifically told him not to do so in Williams' case.

"He said we would deal with them later," Nelson said.

The prosecutor previously told the judge that he was rushing to meet a court deadline for documents and subsequently forgot the photos and notes until he saw them in Nelson's briefcase the night before his planned testimony.

The expert detailed his examination of the gun on Feb. 5, 2003, at the prosecutor's office and conceded that he thought it strange that no representatives of the defense team were present.

Nelson is also the director of legal affairs for the firearms manufacturer and supervises the company's response to civil suits. Hayden pressed Nelson about his bias, noting that he volunteered to work as a consultant after the prosecution said it did not have money to pay him and was covering his own travel expenses to testify.

The expert has said in the past he has no vested interest in the trial's outcome, but on the stand Monday, he seemed to waver.

The Citori "is one of the finest firearms ever made. I'm going to stand up for it. Absolutely," he said.

The defense also recalled a police ballistics expert, Det. Sgt. James Ryan, who testified last month for the prosecution. Williams' lawyers have implied that Nelson altered a portion of his report because it contradicted Ryan.

The detective, however, testified Monday that there was no real contradiction in the findings about the circumstances under which the gun could discharge and Nelson had simply misunderstood his word choice.

"He may have been confused on how I wrote my report," he said.

Williams claims the 10-year-old gun malfunctioned on Feb. 14, 2002, killing driver Costas "Gus" Christofi.

Prosecutors maintain there was nothing wrong with the gun and say Williams was acting reckless when he toyed with it. They are seeking convictions on aggravated manslaughter and seven other charges that could send the one-time All-Star to prison for 55 years.

Ryan is to continue testifying Tuesday, and two defense gun experts, Richard Ernest and John Butters, are also expected to take the stand.