Lawyers in the Atlanta Public Schools test cheating case could begin direct questioning of potential jurors next week, commencing one of the most important phases of the trial.
Defense attorneys are already questioning the racial composition of the 400-member jury pool, saying blacks are underrepresented. And the judge this past week promised not to force any people to serve on a case that could last three months or more if it will jeopardize their personal finances.
It is too early to tell how many of the randomly selected men and women will give every excuse they can think of to try to avoid the ordeal.
What is clear already is that jury selection will not be completed anytime soon. Each of the prospective jurors filled out lengthy questionnaires, giving prosecutors and defense attorneys thousands of pages of answers to sift through. It is possible opening statements may not be given until after Labor Day.
Actually choosing the jury will be a particular challenge for the defense.
“Jurors admire and respect public servants such as teachers and administrators,” said Robert Hirschhorn, a Lewisville, Texas, jury consultant. “But the pedestal is kicked out from under them when they are accused of criminal conduct. And everyone hates a cheater, whether you cheat in school, cheat on your time sheet at work, or cheat on your spouse.”
Prior publicity of the cheating scandal is another challenge for the defense, given the explosive nature of the allegations, he said. For this reason, jury selection is crucial, and it’s imperative that the lawyers identify jurors who have a bias or any preconceived notions about the defendants or the case.
“You would not hire someone to do an important job without thoroughly interviewing them, and the same is true for selecting a jury in a trial,” Hirschhorn said.
The process began this past week with 400 people being summoned into the Fulton County Courthouse. They soon learned their lives could change in a most radical way if they are picked to serve on a grueling trial and sit in judgment of 12 former APS educators and administrators charged in a racketeering indictment.
The 12 stand accused of conspiring to change students' answers on federally mandated curriculum tests. All have strongly maintained their innocence, while 21 fellow co-defendants entered guilty pleas and received sentences of probation.
Defense attorneys expressed concern this past week about the racial composition of the 400-person pool. All 12 APS defendants are African-American.
According to the Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey, 48 percent of Fulton residents who are adults and U.S. citizens are white; 46 percent are African-American. But there appears to be a much smaller percentage of blacks and a greater percentage of whites in the jury pool.
"We think African-Americans are underrepresented in the pool as a whole," said defense lawyer Benjamin Davis during a Thursday hearing. Davis, who represents former APS regional supervisor Tamara Cotman, made the point as prosecutors proposed excusing a number of prospective black jurors who had written they could not afford to serve on such a lengthy trial.
Superior Court Judge Jerry Baxter said he is not going to require anyone, whether they are “black, white or purple,” to jeopardize his or her financial stability by sitting on the jury. “I can’t do that in good conscience.”
On Friday, Baxter said even more prospective jurors — on top of the 400 who showed up this past week — will be summoned next week to make sure enough are qualified for final jury selection.
Twenty-three will serve: 12 jurors and 11 alternates to replace jurors who may have to be excused during the trial.
Over the course of four days this past week, Baxter told eight groups of 50 prospective jurors they have a solemn duty to serve, to avoid all news stories about the case from here on out and to presume all dozen defendants are innocent.
Baxter, regarded for moving his cases along without unnecessary delays, lost patience early with the slow pace.
He prodded prosecutors and defense attorneys to quickly peruse the questionnaires to see who clearly could not serve, such as a man who said he is no longer a Fulton resident. Baxter also told lawyers to identify those with unbearable hardships, such as a woman who is scheduled to work as an overseas contractor and will lose her job if she can’t make it.
“This case is going to be protracted and protracted if you can’t go through these answer sheets and deal with this,” Baxter told attorneys on Tuesday.
He then looked down to Evelyn Parker, his longtime court reporter and trusted adviser. “Frustration has set in, Evelyn, what do I do?” Baxter asked.
“Deep breath,” Parker instructed.
By the end of the week, prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed to dismiss numerous people from the initial pool, and Baxter thanked them for working together.
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