Jury selection in the Justin Ross Harris hot-car murder trial began anew in Brunswick this week after Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark determined last spring that Harris could not receive a fair trial in Cobb County.
Here’s what happened on Tuesday.
The latest: Thirty-six jurors were interviewed collectively by prosecutor Chuck Boring and defense attorney Maddox Kilgore on Tuesday. Later in the day, jurors, appearing in groups of 12, were questioned individually by the state and defense.
The math: Twelve jurors and as many as four alternates will be selected once 42 citizens are qualified by both sides.
The charges: Harris is accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper inside a hot SUV to die. The former Home Depot web developer is charged with eight felonies, including malice murder, which gives jurors the option of finding that he intentionally left his child in his SUV, and felony murder, which would allow jurors to find Harris guilty of criminal negligence. Harris' attorneys say he left Cooper in the hot car by mistake.
Courtroom leaks: Not the human kind. Heavy rains in Brunswick led to multiple leaks in the courtroom, though questioning continued without interruption.
Shared heartache: Fifteen of the 36 jurors questioned Tuesday said they or someone they know had experienced the death of a small child.
Tech savvy: More than a third of the initial 36 said they have worked in the computer field. Only three were unfamiliar with Facebook and only four do not regularly text on their cellphones.
Carnal knowledge: Twenty nine of the three dozen prospective jurors knew a family member, friend or co-worker who'd had an affair. Thirteen of the 36 had gone through a divorce and three said they knew a friend or family member with a sex addiction.
Noted & quoted: "Your friend was dating a married man, and you got sucked into driving her around," said defense attorney Maddox Kilgore, paraphrasing a response from one of the jurors.
What's next: Questioning of the first group of 36 jurors is expected to end sometime Thursday. It's estimated that it will take two to two-and-a-half days to question and then qualify each panel of 36 jurors. Assuming half of the jurors on each panel are qualified, jury selection should be completed sometime next week. But, based on the pace of questioning Tuesday that may be a tad optimistic.
Follow: You can follow the latest developments in the case on Twitter at @AJCBreakdown and at AJC.com. AJC reporters Christian Boone (@reporterJCB) and Bill Rankin (@ajccourts) will be in Brunswick for the duration of the trial.
Harris is also the subject of the second season of the AJC's podcast series "Breakdown," which will follow the trial's developments.
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