The court and the lawyers, working on version 2 of jury selection, have finally assembled a qualified jury pool in the Justin Ross Harris murder trial. The first round of jury selection, in April, crashed and burned on its final day. Judge Mary Staley Clark granted a change of venue so the court could go in search of jurors who hadn’t already made up their minds.

Just in time for Episode 8, the court put the finishing touches on a pool of 45 people, from whom the final 12 and alternates will be chosen on Oct. 3.

Jury selection isn’t fast, but it quite often is fascinating. You learn some interesting and often intimate things about the dozens of unidentified people who are assigned a number, ushered into the courtroom and subjected to questioning by the judge and both attorneys.

One thing that the members of the Brunswick pool have in common: a lot of these folks have seen tragedies of their own. Stillborn babies, suicidal friends, broken marriages and more.

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An image of fallen DeKalb firefighter Preston Fant is displayed as metro Atlanta firefighters and the community come together for a memorial service in his honor at Truist Park, Thursday, September 18, 2025, in Atlanta. The 21-year firefighting veteran died Sept. 8 after battling a fire at a film company warehouse. He became trapped in the blaze while trying to rescue another firefighter. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

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Julian Conley listens during opening statements in his trial at Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. The 25-year-old is accused of fatally shooting 8-year-old Secoriea Turner in July 2020. (Abbey Cutrer/AJC)

Credit: abbey.cutrer@ajc.com