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.