Jury selection in the Ross Harris murder trial took a decidedly different turn this morning: all four prospective jurors who were interviewed said they had formed no opinions about the case and could be fair and impartial.
A deputy clerk, a part-time student, a maintenance man and a rehabilitation aide all told Superior Court Judge Mary Staley they only had cursory knowledge of the case and had formed no opinions about it.
Harris is on trial for murder, accused of killing his 22-month-old son Cooper by leaving him in his car for seven hours in June 2014. On Wednesday, nearly all of the eight prospective jurors to take questions said they knew about the case and had already formed an opinion about it.
But that wasn’t the case today.
“I think anyone’s innocent until proven guilty,” said the deputy court clerk, a divorced mother of four with five grandchildren.
The Acworth woman noted she previously worked for a police department and the victim-witness program of a district attorney’s office. She also said she’s well aware of the danger of leaving kids in cars and has warned her own children about it.
“I try to tell my kids all the time,” she said. “Be careful when you go somewhere. Don’t leave your kids in the car for any length of time.”
Another prospective juror, a maintenance man from Mableton who works at a nursing home, acknowledged that he had four prior arrests and that his son is facing a murder charge in Douglas County. He said none of those things would prevent him from being fair and impartial to the prosecution or defense.
So far, a dozen potential jurors from a pool of about 250 have answered questions posed by the judge and by the prosecution and defense.
Dunwoody defense attorney Esther Panitch has said Staley needs 32 jurors who have not been struck for cause. That accounts for 12 jurors, two alternates and nine “peremptory” challenges afforded to each side.
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