BRUNSWICK — After being peppered with a third round of questions, Juror No. 1, a retired veteran, spoke for many Wednesday in the Ross Harris murder trial jury pool when he said, "I've put in my time."
Turns out he was correct. In a sign that Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark plans to be more open to defense challenges than she was during the initial round of jury selection in Cobb County, Juror No. 1 was struck for cause over the prosecution’s objection.
Though he said he would follow the judge's instructions to be unbiased, Juror No. 1 said he believed Harris was "not innocent" — an opinion solidified, he said, by the long list of charges against the former Home Depot web developer, accused of intentionally leaving his son inside a hot car to die.
During jury selection in Cobb, Staley Clark qualified five jurors who voiced opinions that Harris was guilty. Ultimately she thought twice about those decisions, granting the defense's motion for a change of venue.
“She is being very deliberate and conscientious to protect the record and not give the defense appealable issues, in the event Harris is convicted of any crime,” said Dunwoody attorney Esther Panitch, who is not affiliated with the case.
Six out of the 12 eligible jurors were qualified on Wednesday. Those who weren’t included a convicted felon who, according to the judge, reeked of marijuana and an elderly woman excused for cataracts surgery. Three others were struck for cause, including Juror No. 3, who said, “There is no excuse for leaving a child in a car.”
Thirty-five more jurors need to be qualified, a process expected to last until the end of next week. Following a one week recess, the 42 jurors not struck for cause will return Oct. 3. At that point, each side can use up to 13 peremptory strikes, leaving 12 jurors and four alternates to decide Harris’ fate.
Harris is the subject of the second season of the AJC's podcast series "Breakdown," which will follow the trial's developments.
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