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Jury update: Roeder?s defense asks for ?cautionary? instruction

By Ron Sylvester

Updated:

Fearing jurors may feel in danger during the murder trial of a man charged with killing Wichita abortion doctor, Scott Roeder’s defense has asked the trial judge for a special instruction when panelists are questioned as a group.

Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert has ordered jurors to receive numbers when they enter the next stage of questioning, probably next week, in the first-degree murder trial of Scott Roeder. That part of the selection process is open to the public. Roeder’s public defenders, however, said that move could cause potential jurors to jump to the wrong conclusions about why they are not being called by name.

The defense said without proper instructions, jurors “will consider the defendant’s participation in a group with the capacity to harm jurors,” attorney Mark Rudy said, quoting case law, in his motion filed today. Rudy’s motion said numbered juries have been used in trials of reputed organized crime members.

“The jury may be left to speculate about the dangers,” Rudy said, compromising their duty to presume Roeder innocent. Instead, Rudy said, jurors should be told the anonymity is to protect their privacy.

Rudy offered several examples of the requested instruction, including:

• “The procedure of referring to jurors by numbers is being employed to reduce the possibility that the media or others interested in the issues of this case might try to contact you.
• “The use of numbers instead of names should in no way be interpreted as a reflection of the defendant’s guilt or innocence.”

Lawyers are in their third day of interviewing jurors in-dividually and in private, asking them about issues such as their personal beliefs on abortions. By noon Friday, 19 had passed legal challenges qualified to remain on the panel.

Update: By the end of the day Friday, lawyers had qualified 25 prospective jurors.

More than 40 are needed to move into the next stage, where they will receive numbers and be questioned as a group. Wilbert has ordered that part of jury selection open to the public after four news outlets filed legal action to open the process earlier this week.

At least 42 must be qualified before each side exercises preemptory strikes, where jurors may be dismissed for almost any reasons, other than those protected by law includ-ing race and gender. The prosecution and defense will each get 14 preemptory strikes, leaving the final panel of 12 jurors and two alternates.

Full post as published by What the Judge Ate for Breakfast on January 15, 2010 (boomark / email).