Jury selection continued Friday at a quicker pace in the trial of Ross Harris, accused of intentionally killing his son by leaving him locked in a hot car nearly two years ago.
Eight Cobb County residents were qualified Thursday to serve as jurors and, of the four questioned by the prosecution and defense this morning, at least two appeared likely to make the cut.
Once enough jurors are qualified each side will be allowed to exercise their nine peremptory challenges, said Marietta defense attorney Philip Holloway, who has followed the court case from the beginning. The magic number: 34, which accounts for 12 jurors, four alternates and 18 challenges, if necessary.
7 keys to the Ross Harris trial
Harris, charged with felony and malice murder, told police he forgot to drop off 22-month-old Cooper at daycare and instead drove to his office at Home Depot, parked and left his son in the car. He pleaded not guilty and has been held without bond since June 2014.
As has been true from the beginning, all of the prospective jurors questioned Friday morning said they were aware of the case. Only one, a former Roswell police sergeant, testified he had formed a fixed opinion on Harris.
“I don’t think it’s possible for a person to forget his child,” he said.
The citizen who preceded the ex-cop said he had an open mind and had not followed the case closely. The man, who had just become a first-time father, said he and his wife “made a conscious effort to disengage” from ongoing coverage, calling it a “anxiety trigger” for his spouse.
Still, he was hoping to get picked as a juror. “It’s something I’ve never done,” he said.
The third citizen called, employed as a federal corrections officer, said he would have no trouble being impartial. A fourth, a Brazilian mother of two, was dismissed due to language barriers.
For continuous updates on the Harris trial, follow @ReporterJCB on Twitter.
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