Six prospective jurors on Wednesday made it to the final pool for the upcoming hot-car murder trial against Justin Ross Harris.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys finished questioning the initial panel of 12 potential jurors. By consent, both sides agreed that three of those jurors — a self-described “retired housewife,” a high school English teacher from St. Simons and a mother of three from Brunswick — could not sit as fair and impartial jurors because they said they had fixed opinions that Harris is guilty.
Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark then sided with a defense motion to strike for cause Juror #1, a retiree who once worked for AT&T. This man had said that while he could follow the law and evidence, he could not change his opinion that Harris was “not innocent.” Even though prosecutors said they believed Juror #1 should be eligible to serve, Staley Clark disagreed.
One other juror was excused because she had upcoming cataract surgery. Another was let go because he had a prior felony conviction.
The latest: Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clark said Wednesday she is calling all jurors back to court in Brunswick on Oct. 3. This indicates she hopes both sides will be able to finish the jury selection process that day, with opening statements to begin shortly after that.
Pushing and pulling: When a potential juror says he or she already believes Harris is guilty, prosecutors try to get them to say they can set those beliefs aside and decide the case on the law and the evidence. On the other hand, defense attorneys are trying to get them to admit they can't set those feelings aside and cannot give Harris the presumption of innocence.
Get some sleep: Cobb County prosecutor Chuck Boring successfully got Staley Clark to strike Juror #6 because he'd failed to disclose a 1989 felony conviction. The man, a contractor and father of four, also showed up to court "with an odor of marijuana about him," Boring said. Not only that, he fell asleep for at least 15 minutes in the jury box Wednesday morning as other jurors were being questioned. "Let him go find himself some sleep somewhere," Staley Clark said, when dismissing Juror #6.
The charges: Harris is accused of intentionally leaving his 22-month-old son Cooper inside a hot SUV to die. The former Home Depot web developer is charged with eight felonies, including malice murder, which gives jurors the option of finding that he intentionally left his child in his SUV, and felony murder, which would allow jurors to find Harris guilty of criminal negligence. Harris' attorneys say he left Cooper in the hot car by mistake.
By the numbers: It is expected that 42 jurors must survive initial challenges for cause — meaning they can sit as fair and impartial jurors. After that, both the prosecution and the defense begin exercising their strikes to get to a jury of 12 and four alternates.
All eyes on Juror #5: Prosecutors and defense attorneys spent an inordinate amount of time — at least 45 minutes — questioning Juror #5. For the past 18 years, she's worked as a massage therapist and is married to a historic preservationist. Her husband, it turns out, grew up in Cobb and was friends with Staley Clark's stepson. She revealed that in recent months she read an in-depth news story about child deaths in hot cars, the psychology of why it happens and how different jurisdictions treat cases in different ways. She also noted that a close relative, who suffered from sex addiction, served prison time for statutory rape. As for the Harris case, she said she could keep an open mind.
Noted & quoted: "I don't think there's any excuse for leaving a child in a car," said Juror #4, who was dismissed for cause. "There's no excuse for that. … That's murder."
What's next: Questioning by prosecutors and defense attorneys continues — both panels of 12 jurors as a whole and then of individual jurors who said they have formed opinions of the case and have heard about it in the media.
Follow: 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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