Distance makes juror hearts less hostile to Ross Harris

Compared to the unguarded hostility many Cobb County residents showed toward Harris last spring, the jury pool in Glynn County has lacked the "pervasive bias" that led Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark to grant a change of venue after three intense weeks of juror questioning.

“Proximity has made a huge difference,” said Marietta attorney Philip Holloway, who has followed the case from the beginning. Harris is accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper inside a hot car to die.

That’s not to say prospective jurors in Brunswick haven’t formed opinions about the former Home Depot web developer.

"It is not even in my realm of thinking that anyone would leave a living thing in his car," said a retired banker now working as a personal assistant to a corporate executive. She said her opinion could not be swayed. "Even to leave a lizard in the car for a couple of hours in 99-degree weather … you know, that's murder."

The difference? The former banker was struck from the pool by consent of both sides. Out of 72 Glynn County residents questioned over eight days in court, the prosecution and defense have disagreed on just four prospective jurors. Staley Clark sided with the defense twice and the prosecution twice.

In Cobb, five citizens who voiced strong opinions against Harris were qualified over the defense's objections. Their qualification ultimately forced the trial out of Cobb when Staley Clark had second thoughts about her initial decisions.

The differences, though, between the jury that never was and the one that soon will be run deeper than their feelings about Harris, 35.

Reflecting Glynn County's demographics, jurors here are generally less affluent and older. And many have said they've experienced an unusual amount of heartache.

The final 45 include a landscaper who said both her mother and brother died in her arms of terminal illnesses; a man who, when he was 6, survived a car wreck that claimed the lives of his mother and 3-year-old brother; and a secretary whose father, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty when she was 12.

There was also a man who lost three babies at birth. He nearly broke down on the stand when asked if he could bear seeing photos of a dead child during the trial. At least four other potential jurors were overcome by emotion during their testimony.

Making Jurors Feel Empathy

Will those jurors touched by tragedy be more empathetic toward Harris?

“It depends on the nature of the tragedy,” said Dunwoody defense attorney Esther Panitch, who was in the courtroom for the first week of jury selection. “They may think (Harris) took this gift he was given for granted.”

“But every mother I know has made a mistake raising their child,” she said. “They know that drop in the stomach that happens when you can’t find your kid or drop them by mistake.”

Atlanta defense attorney Steve Sadow said he'd want to know how those jurors reacted to the loss of a loved one. Harris was arrested largely because Cobb police found his behavior after Cooper's death off-putting.

“It happens all the time,” Sadow said. “Defendants never act properly after experiencing a loss, according to the police. If they cry, they cry too much. If they don’t, they should’ve cried more.”

Making jurors feel empathy for Harris will be one of the defense’s bigger challenges. The state is expected to introduce considerable testimony about his extramarital activities, including serial sexting and frequent visits to prostitutes.

Friends and relatives may be able to persuade jurors to separate Harris the father from Harris the husband. But if not, the defendant himself may be forced to take the stand.

“I think they’ll wait until the state has presented all of its evidence and make the decision then,” Holloway said.

Juror 20: Recipe For Disaster?

Of course, reading a jury is not an exact science. On the day after jury selection was completed, prosecutors sought to strike one of the qualified jurors, saying she misrepresented herself.

Contrary to what she had said on the stand one week ago, Juror 20 — who, like the defendant, had an affair and lost a child at a young age — expressed opinions about Harris’ guilt and how he should be sentenced.

“I don’t support the death penalty but I hope he gets as much time as they can give him,” she once posted in a Facebook group dedicated to the Harris case.

Later, she wrote, “Obviously I think he did this on purpose. We should never allow forgetting to be an excuse.”

But the defense fought to keep her on the jury, despite those opinions. While under questioning she appeared more open-minded, saying, "Sometimes we forget that everyone has humanity."

“That she couldn’t remember something she said two years ago is hardly remarkable,” Harris’ attorney Maddox Kilgore said.

The state accused the defense of inviting an appellate issue: "If we leave her in this jury pool it's a recipe for disaster," prosecutor Chuck Boring said.

Staley Clark, seeking to circumvent any possible appeal, asked Harris directly if he wanted the juror struck. He stood up from the defense table and, speaking publicly for the first time since his arrest, said he did not.

The judge denied the prosecution’s request to disqualify Juror 20 and kept her in the panel.

Time will tell if the defense bet wisely.

Juror 34: Rolling The Dice

On Wednesday, Harris’ defense team curiously did not ask that Juror 34 be disqualified.

She’s the financial manager of a religious organization and is highly opinionated, having written letters to the editor and called in to talk radio, espousing her views.

When first questioned by Cobb prosecutor Jesse Evans, Juror 34 said she believed Harris was guilty. After all, he'd been sexting with young women. "Maybe he wanted to get rid of his kid because he wanted to go on with his life."

Evans soon thanked her and sat down, apparently ready to agree with the defense that she couldn’t be fair and impartial.

But Kilgore then rose and did what prosecutors had been trying to do — rehabilitate a juror who said she thought his client was guilty.

Why? It’s likely because six years ago, the woman was given a ticket for rolling through a stop sign, something she insisted never happened.

“To know that this cop, this police officer, lied, it did really color the way I look at law enforcement,” she said.

Kilgore asked her if she would be willing to hear what both the prosecution and the defense presented in court.

“I would have to,” she said. “I don’t want to do it. This is not a pleasant thing. This is awful. But if push comes to shove, I am a moral, fair person. So I would have to listen to both sides.”

Juror 34 remained in the running.