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.

www.OfficerRichardMay.org