Welcome back to our ongoing coverage of the Ahmaud Arbery case, in which defendants Greg McMichael, Travis McMichael, and William Bryan are being tried for murder and other charges in the shooting death of Arbery. I am, of course, Attorney Andrew Branca, for Law of Self Defense.
Today the court proceeded with jury selection, or
voir dire, in the case, with the goal of empaneling 12 jurors and 4 alternates. Although Judge Wamsley presiding over the trial had initially expected jury selection would take no longer than two weeks, the unexpectedly slow pace of voir dire in these first few days has led him to become concerned that jury selection could, in fact, take longer than that.
Key Findings from General Voir Dire
Of particular note from today’s general
voir dire:
- Nearly 60% of today’s prospective jurors indicated that they had already formed or expressed an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the accused.
- Nearly half (47%) of today’s prospective jurors had formed a negative feeling about one or more of the defendants.
- Nearly 70% of today’s prospective jurors owned firearms kept within their household.
- About 37% of today’s prospective jurors had obtained non-military training in firearms.
- Substantial majorities of today’s prospective jurors believed that people of color are treated fairly by the police particularly (68%) and the criminal justice system generally (79%).
- Nearly half (47%) of today’s prospective jurors indicated that they had circumstances at work or home that would diminish their ability to focus their full attention on the trial if called to serve as jurors.
