A new panel of three dozen prospective jurors showed up in court on Monday for the Justin Ross Harris hot-car murder trial, and 21 of them said they'd already expressed an opinion as to Harris' guilt or innocence.
Also, all but one said they’d already heard about the sensational case in the news media. This likely means this round of jury selection will take some time.
Harris stands accused of purposely leaving his 22-month-old son, Cooper, in a hot car to die in June 2014. The defense says it was a tragic accident.
As the second week of jury selection resumed, the goal was to have at least 42 prospective jurors qualified to serve by week's end. Already, 23 potential jurors have been declared eligible to serve in the final jury pool.
As she did last week, Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark brought in 36 jurors as a group and had them seated in the jury box and throughout the courtroom. She then poses questions to them in panels of 12, such as whether they had formed and expressed an opinion on Harris’ guilt or innocence.
Staley Clark then questions each juror individually, asking them where they work, whether they’re married, if they have children and where they live.
Throughout the rest of the day, lawyers for the prosecution and the defense will question jurors both in groups and, later, individually.
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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