Wednesday evening - 55 Jurors in the pool

Another day of jury selection completed. Not the best of days in terms of three of the four jurors who were passed for cause. These three jurors lean strongly against the death penalty but remained on the jury because they stated they could still be fair and impartial and consider the death penalty in an appropriate case.

13 jurors were questioned today (instead of the usual 16 because three jurors were not present: one juror failed to appear, one juror flew to Taiwan to be with her ill father, and one juror was too sick to attend court) and four of the prospective jurors were passed for cause and return on October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection process. After 12 days of general questioning, 55 jurors have been cleared for cause (out of 187 jurors). There are three days and 49 jurors left in the scheduled jury questioning process. The trial resumes this morning with voir dire of a new group of 16 jurors.Just three days of jury questioning left.

Judge Parsons did not address the issue of what the court plans to do if we do not acquire enough jurors by the completion of jury questioning next Tuesday.

There is concern about the lower than expected number of jurors being selected

The trial resumed today with questioning of another 16 prospective jurors. The sixteenth day of jury selection overall and eleventh day of general voir dire was completed. 16 jurors were questioned Tuesday and five of the prospective jurors were passed for cause and return on October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection process. After 11 days of general questioning, 51 jurors have been cleared for cause (out of 174 jurors questioned). There are four days and 64 jurors left in the scheduled jury questioning process. The trial resumes Wednesday morning with voir dire of a new group of 16 jurors.

Judge Parsons at the end of the afternoon expressed his concern about the number of jurors we have cleared for cause. He estimated that at this rate, next Tuesday when we complete questioning of the remaining jurors, we will have less than 70 jurors cleared for cause. Our goal was to have over 80-85 jurors cleared for cause. Judge Parsons asked the attorneys to consider how the court should proceed in light of the low number and be prepared to discuss it later this week.

Only One Juror Added to the Pool Today

(picture from the San Jose Mercury News - Riderless Horse, with backward boots, outside the HP Pavilion Services for Rich)

The fifteenth day of jury selection overall and tenth day of general voir dire was completed. 16 jurors were scheduled for questioning today. One juror was passed for cause and 15 jurors were excused. All eight of the jurors in the afternoon were excused by stipulation of the parties based on their views on the death penalty. Excuses today were predominantly based on opposition to the death penalty, one excused for financial hardship (not previously raised), and several for their view that the only punishment for the murder of a police officer is the death penalty. After 10 days of general questioning, 46 jurors have been cleared for cause (out of 158 jurors). There are five days and 80 jurors left in the scheduled jury questioning process. The trial is in recess Friday and on Monday (religious holiday) and will resume on Tuesday with another 16 jurors.

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45 jurors accepteds out of 142 jurors questioned

(photo courtesy of San Jose Mercury News) Rich's casket being carried out from the service at the San Jose HP Pavilion

Another day in court was completed and what started as a productive day (three jurors cleared in the morning) finished with just one juror cleared in the afternoon. And we lost another juror who passed for cause two weeks ago due to new information about her knowledge of one of our law enforcement witnesses. So four steps forward and one step back.

The fourteenth day of jury selection overall and ninth day of general voir dire was completed. 15 jurors were questioned Wednesday (one juror called in sick with the flu and was rescheduled to next week). Four jurors were passed for cause and 11 jurors were excused. Additionally a juror who was passed for cause two weeks ago returned to court to advise that she learned at a party she attended that one of her friends was a Sheriff’s Office sergeant who will be a witness in our trial; her view was that he is an excellent officer and she would believe whatever he testified about. Judge Parsons excused her from the jury. Thus there are now 45 jurors cleared for cause (out of 142 jurors questioned). The trial resumes Thursday morning with general questioning of another group of jurors.

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Jury Selection - Another Day (We have 42 of the 85 Jurors needed)

The thirteenth day of jury selection overall and eighth day of general questioning of jurors was completed today. 16 jurors were questioned and five of the jurors were passed for cause and directed to return on October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection procedure.

Of the 11 jurors excused for cause today, seven of the jurors stated they would only consider the punishment of death for the first degree murder of a police officer and would not consider the punishment of life in prison; three jurors were excused because they could never return a death verdict; and one juror was excused for bizarre answers on a variety of topics.

A total of 42 jurors (out of 127 jurors questioned) have been passed for cause and return on October 8. Our target is 83-85 jurors passed for cause, so we have a ways to go. Jury selection resumes Wednesday morning at 9:00 with questioning of another 16 jurors.

A total of 37 jurors, out of 111 jurors questioned, are in the October 8th pool.

The 12th day of jury selection is overall and the seventh day of questioning jurors about their ability to be fair in sitting on this case was completed. Another 16 jurors were interviewed and four of the jurors were passed for cause. A total of 37 jurors (out of 111 jurors questioned) have now been passed for cause. The trial resumes this morning with general questioning of another 16 jurors.

Of the 12 jurors excused today, nine of the jurors were excused based on their opposition to the death penalty as a potential punishment in the case; one juror was excused because of his view that only the death penalty is appropriate for the murder of a police officer; one juror was excused based on a new hardship (loss of $10,000 in savings if he had to sit for this lengthy trial); and one juror was excused because he was the defendant's father's general physician for many years (what are the odds he would be called as a potential juror in this case; very long odds.)

The four jurors passed for cause are three professional women and one man employed at Kaiser Hospital. All stated they could fairly consider both the death penalty and life without parole in a penalty phase of the trial.

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The eleventh day of jury selection - Next day in court is Monday

(Picture from San Jose Mercury News - Mounted agencies outside the HP Pavilion Services for Rich)


Another day of jury selection was completed. This was the eleventh day of jury selection overall and the sixth day of individual questioning of the prospective jurors. Another 16 jurors were questioned and only three were passed for cause today. Of the thirteen jurors excused, four were for language problems, five for their anti-death penalty position (meaning they would never consider the death penalty), and four for their pro-death penalty position (meaning they jurors would only consider the punishment of death for killing a police officer and would not fairly consider the alternative punishment of life without parole.)

A total of 33 jurors (out of 95 jurors questioned) have now been passed for cause. The trial is in recess Friday and resumes on Monday morning at 9:00 with further voir dire of a new group of 16 jurors.


And the march goes on.

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Tenth Day of Jury Selection

( San Jose Mercury News Photo - Front of the funeral procession from East Palo Alto to San Jose, along Hwy 101)

The tenth day of jury selection overall and fifth day of general voir dire was conducted. 16 jurors were questioned and six jurors were passed for cause. A total of 30 jurors have been passed for cause and directed to return on Thursday, October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection process. The trial is in recess Wednesday (state court closure day) and will resume Thursday morning at 9:00 with further jury questioning of another group of eight jurors in the morning and eight jurors in the afternoon.

Everything else proceeds on schedule.

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Another day in the jury selection trenches

(Image owned by the San Jose Mercury News - Firefighters on Hwy 101 overpasses as funeral procession travels from East Palo to the HP Pavilion in San Jose)

Another day in the jury selection trenches. The 22nd day of jury trial overall, the ninth day of jury selection overall and the fourth day of general questioning of the jurors was completed. Seven jurors were questioned on Monday and seven jurors were passed for cause and directed to return for the final jury selection day on October 8, 2009. A total of 24 jurors have been passed for cause out of the 64 that have been questioned so far. The trial resumes Tuesday morning at 9:00 with another eight jurors in the morning and eight jurors in the afternoon.

An uneventful day otherwise.

Murder Trial of East Palo Alto Police Officer Rich may

[The front Seat of Officer May's Patrol car, taken a few weeks prior to Officer May's murder, by his father, Rick]

The first week of general questioning of the jurors was completed today. We questioned a total of 63 jurors and 17 made it through to the next phase. That seems small but it is about normal in a death penalty case. I think it was a good week for us and most of these 17 jurors would be pretty solid jurors for the prosecution in the case. Here is the breakdown for today:

The eighth day of jury selection overall and third day of general voir dire was completed yesterday. In the morning, one of the jurors (a 79 year old woman) passed for cause on Wednesday afternoon called and advised the court and counsel that after court she had major headaches and pain and requested to be excused for medical hardship. With the stipulation of the attorneys, the court granted the request and excused the juror. Yesterday 15 prospective jurors were questioned by the judge and attorneys concerning the death penalty, publicity and other issues in the case. Four of the 15 jurors were passed for cause and directed to return on Thursday, October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection process. A total of 17 jurors have been passed for cause so far.

The trial is in recess today and resumes on Monday morning at 9:00 with general voir dire of another 16 jurors.

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After two days of general questioning - 14 jurors will return on Oct 8 for final Selection

Today a new group of 16 jurors was in court for questioning on the death penalty, knowledge of the case, and other issues in the case. The questioning took all day and 8 of the 16 jurors were passed for cause and directed to return on October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection.

Of the eight jurors excused for cause, one was excused for a financial hardship and the other seven were excused based on their views on the death penalty (inability to fairly consider the punishment).

After two days of general questioning, 14 jurors have been passed for cause (this is a high percentage for a case involving the death penalty). The trial resumes this morning with questioning of the next group of 16 jurors.

Jury Selection Continues - First Day of Voir Dire

Sixth day of jury selection overall and first day of general voir dire was completed today. 16 jurors were questioned by the judge and attorneys concerning their ability to be fair and impartial in considering the death penalty and other issues in the case. Eight jurors in the morning and eight jurors in the afternoon were examined. 6 of the 16 jurors were passed for cause and directed to return on Thursday, October 8, 2009 for the final jury selection process.

Of the other ten jurors, seven were excused for their views on the death penalty (could not consider or impose that punishment), one was excused due to health issues, and two were excused for prior knowledge or contact with participants in the case (one who knows the prosecutor and one who knows the Merrill family).

Jury selection resumes Wednesday morning at 9:00 with further voir dire of another group of eight jurors in the morning and eight in the afternoon.

Judge Parsons denied the defense motion to dismiss the jury panel

Another day in trial but in the morning only.

The hearing was conducted on the defense Buford motion to dismiss the jury panel for failure to have an adequate representation by African-Americans in the jury pool. One witness testified: Superior Court Assistant Administrator Jill Selvaggio. Ms. Selvaggio testified about the system for summoning jurors for jury duty and how the jurors are placed on panels for jury duty in particular courtrooms. She testified that the system is completely race neutral and conducted randomly by computer processing. Judge Parsons denied the defense motion to strike the jury panel. The court then discussed jury questioning procedures (specifically questioning on the death penalty and other significant issues) for the start of individual juror questioning next week. The trial is in recess today and will resume on Tuesday, September 7, 2009 with the start of general voir dire of the prospective jurors.

240 juror questionnaires have been completed. The District Attorney's office has a lot of reading to do over the weekend and the ensuing days.

The fifth and last day of hardship jury selection was completed today

The fifth and last day of hardship jury selection was completed today. Two additional panels of 75 jurors each were brought into court this morning and afternoon.

Of the 150 prospective jurors met today, 111 were excused due to hardship and 39 were passed for hardship and filled out questionnaires. Those 39 jurors were given dates to return for general questioning starting on September 8, 2009.

The total numbers for the five days of hardship jury selection are: 750 total jurors examined; 510 of those jurors were excused for hardship and 240 jurors were passed for hardship and will return for questioning at a later date in September. This now completes the first phase of jury selection. The court wanted approximately 225 jurors to make it through this phase and we easily exceeded that number.

The next phase of jury selection starts on Tuesday, September 7, 2009 with questioning of the individual jurors who passed for hardship. This process starts on Tuesday and will be conducted through October 7, 2009. We are still very much on pace for the opening statements on October 13, 2009.

The trial resumes tomorrow morning, Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 10:00 with a hearing on the defense motion to dismiss all of the jurors that were selected over the course of the last five days on the basis that the system used by the San Mateo Superior Court is flawed in that it failed to call an adequate percentage of African-American jurors into the prospective juror pool (the 750 jurors called into the courtroom). We will present the testimony of the Superior Court jury commissioner who will testify how prospective jurors are called and how the court computer system does so randomly.

We will also discuss further the jury selection questions to be posed to prospective jurors next Tuesday and the ensuing days of jury selection. I believe the trial will be in recess Thursday afternoon and on Friday.

Fourth Day of Juror Selection

We completed the fourth day of jury selection today and another 148 prospective jurors were brought into court and asked about sitting on this three months trial.

Of the 148 prospective jurors, 99 were excused due to hardship and 49 were passed for hardship and filled out questionnaires. Those 49 jurors were given dates to return for general questioning starting on September 8, 2009.

The total numbers for the four days of hardship jury selection are: 600 total jurors examined; 399 of those jurors were excused for hardship and 201 jurors were passed for hardship and will return for questioning at a later date in September.

It appears we will complete hardship inquiry tomorrow (Wednesday) with the final panels of 75 jurors in the morning and 75 jurors in the afternoon.