Jury selection in trial of 3 men accused of killing Ahmaud Arbery could take weeks

3 years ago 227

FILE - In this representation made from video, from left, begetter and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael, accused successful the shooting decease of Ahmaud Arbery successful Georgia connected February 2020, perceive via closed circuit tv successful the Glynn County Detention halfway successful Brunswick, Ga., connected Thursday, Nov. 12, arsenic lawyers reason for enslaved to beryllium acceptable astatine the Glynn County courthouse. Jury enactment successful the execution proceedings of the McMichaels and William Roddie Bryan, a neighbour who joined the pursuit and took the video, is scheduled to statesman Monday, Oct. 18. (AP Photo/Lewis Levine, File)

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – More than 1,000 imaginable jurors volition amusement up to the Glynn County Courthouse connected Monday morning. Twelve radical volition extremity up being selected as jurors for the proceedings against the 3 men accused of sidesplitting Ahmaud Arbery successful 2020.

News4Jax spoke with lawyer Gene Nichols, who is not affiliated with this case. He says assemblage enactment could instrumentality days.

“I’ll beryllium amazed if they prime a assemblage this week. I deliberation that we’re going to person truthful galore individuals who cognize excessively overmuch astir this lawsuit and person opinions connected 1 broadside oregon the different that are truthful ingrained connected the agelong past of this case, the tiny community. That it’s going to instrumentality respective attempts to get a jury,” said Nichols.

Father and son, Gregory and Travis McMichael are some charged. They’re accused of chasing Arbery with weapons portion helium was jogging done their Satilla Shores neighborhood.

William Bryan, the antheral who recorded the killing, has been charged with felony execution and transgression effort to perpetrate mendacious imprisonment.

Investigators said Travis McMichael changeable Arbery, sidesplitting him. Greg McMichael told constabulary helium thought Arbery was liable for interruption ins successful the neighborhood. Their neighbor, William Roddie Bryan, who is besides charged, recorded the extremity of the pursuit connected his compartment phone.

As the commencement of the anticipated proceedings inches closer, determination person been respective events bringing consciousness to the case. A rally took spot extracurricular of Glynn County courthouse and determination was a assemblage motorcycle and car thrust successful grant of Ahmaud Arbery.

Nichols said it volition beryllium hard to find an impartial jury.

“As a transgression defence lawyer, I’m looking for radical who are one, open-minded who are besides going to beryllium consenting to springiness their opinion. As transgression defence attorneys we accidental we don’t privation sheep successful the back. We don’t privation radical who are conscionable going to travel different people’s leads.”

According to Nichols, the imaginable juror to interest astir is idiosyncratic who claims they haven’t heard thing astir the high-profile lawsuit that has gained nationalist attention.

“Anybody that suggests that they don’t cognize thing astir this lawsuit is astir apt trying to get connected this jury. Both the authorities and the defence request to beryllium precise wary of jurors who privation to beryllium connected this assemblage due to the fact that that means that they person a program oregon an docket oregon immoderate thought that they privation to impart connected this case,” said Nichols.

Nichols said helium would not beryllium amazed if the justice decides to spell to a antithetic jurisdiction to prime a assemblage extracurricular of Glynn County.

The Glynn County Superior Court Clerk Ronal Adams said it could instrumentality 2 weeks oregon longer to prime a jury.