‘Breakdown’ podcast
The AJC’s exclusive podcast “Breakdown — Death in a Hot Car: Mistake or Murder?” — is available on our webpage, ajcbreakdown.com. Or you may download the first five episodes on the Harris case from the iTunes podcast store — downloading or streaming are free of charge — or from other podcast providers. In the seven days ended on Friday, “Death in a Hot Car” received more than 300,000 plays on iTunes alone. Now that the trial has begun, we plan weekly updates that will be available at ajcbreakdown.com or on iTunes or Stitcher (for Android devices) by midday each Monday.
With 41 jurors qualified and only one more needed, Ross Harris’ defense team threw a last-minute Hail Mary Friday afternoon, filing a change of venue motion that legal observers say has little chance of being granted.
That opinion is based not so much on the merits of the motion but rather the judge who will decide it, said Marietta criminal defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who is not involved in this case.
“I find it very unlikely she would grant a change of venue,” Merchant said of Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley.
Staley, a former prosecutor with a reputation for being tough on defendants and their lawyers, scheduled a hearing Monday morning and said she expects to rule before lunch.
Harris, accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper inside a hot car to die, is charged with malice murder, two counts of felony murder, cruelty to children in the first and second degree, criminal attempt to commit a felony and dissemination of harmful materials to minors. He contends it was an accident.
So far only a few of the 85 jurors questioned have said they believe him.
According to the defense motion, 43 of the prospective jurors have “formed an opinion that defendant is guilty, expressed an opinion (about his guilt), have bias against defendant” and are either partial to the state’s case or require Harris to prove his innocence.
“In defendant counsel’s judgment, an impartial jury cannot be obtained in the county where the crime is alleged to have been committed,” the motion states. “From the questioning of potential jurors and answers provided by them, it is apparent that due to pretrial publicity in this matter, an impartial jury cannot be obtained in this county as there is a pervasive and persistent opinion that defendant is guilty of the crimes alleged against him in this indictment.”
Merchant said she’s been surprised to see “just how biased” jurors have been against Harris.
“It seems almost everyone has followed this case,” Merchant said. “They seem to come in knowing a lot of the facts.”
Their knowledge is based largely on prosecutorial spin and media sensationalism, the defense argued.
“There has been an enormous amount of highly prejudicial and pervasive publicity in this case which has created a bias against defendant and impacted the ability of a majority of prospective jurors to serve impartially in the case,” the motion states.
Of the 43 jurors who’ve formed opinions against Harris, six have been qualified.
“That means the overwhelming majority can be impartial,” said Dunwoody defense attorney Esther Panitch. “If there was a net loss, if everyone said they couldn’t be fair or impartial, I could see his point.”
Panitch said the motion is largely intended for use on appeal, if one is needed.
Earlier Friday Staley qualified four Cobb County residents: a Kennesaw native who, like Harris, graduated from the University of Alabama and works for Home Depot; a technical engineer from East Cobb who mentors teenagers and whose son has been offered football scholarships from more than a dozen colleges; an accountant from North Cobb who said she believed her nephew was wrongly charged with killing his son in a fatal traffic accident; and a software engineer from Smyrna who enjoys watching the NBA on TV and hanging with her Yorkshire Terrier.
While the schedule remains fluid, it appears likely opening statements will occur sometime next week.
For ongoing coverage of the Harris case, follow @ReporterJCB and @ajccourts on Twitter.
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