Dylann Roof’s Request For Bench Trial Denied

On June 17, 2015, Dylann Roof staged a massacre at the Emanuel AME Church during Bible study.  Among those who killed were Pastor Clementa Pinckney.  Roof has been charged under South Carolina law where prosecutors seek the death penalty.  He has also been charged under federal law.

Roof, 22-years old, is charged with murder and attempted murder on the state level.  Federal prosecutors have charged Roof with 33 counts, including hate crimes, obstruction of religion, and firearms offenses.

On June 7, 2016, federal Judge Richard M. Gergel scheduled Roof’s trial to begin on a November 7, 2016.  The trial is estimated to take about 6 weeks. The judge turned down an earlier request by the South Carolina prosecutor, Scarlett A. Wilson, to allow the state’s trial to go forth first.  It is scheduled for January, 2017.  Jury selection in the state trial is due to start in early December, which could overlap with the federal proceedings.

To select 12 impartial jurors, Judge Gergel planned to have 1,500 prospective jurors called statewide for jury duty.  Jury selection includes 12 and 6 alternates.  Roof’s attorneys filed a document that Roof will waive his right to a trial by jury.  The filing does not give a reason for why Roof wants to waive a trial by jury. 

Jury Selection Begins For Officer Charged In The Death of Freddie Gray

On April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray was arrested in Baltimore. He was placed unsecured in a police van and was unresponsive when it reached the jail. Freddie was taken to the hospital where he died on April 19, 2015.  The coroner’s report found that Freddie suffered a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody.

Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby charged 6 officers in the death of Freddie Gray. Pre-trial activity has included numerous motions filed by defense attorneys. The first of the officers to stand trial is William Porter. Jury selection began today. Porter is charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless endangerment and assault.

Folks, this looks as if jury selection is going to be a long process, although Baltimore Circuit Court Judge Barry Williams said that the trial would be over by December 17th.

Open Discussion and Michael Dunn Jury Selection

Caterpillars, moths, butterflies, and all creatures great and small,

Jury selection in the Michael Dunn murder retrial started today.  In his first trial, Dunn was found guilty of 2nd degree attempted murder for shooting into the SUV that contained passengers and the driver, including Jordan Davis.  The jury however, hung on the 1st degree murder charge for Dunn’s killing of Jordan Davis.  Dunn has claimed self-defense.

Dunn’s sentencing on the 2nd degree attempted murder convictions is postponed until after his retrial.

Jury selection is expected to take several days.

Please use this thread to discuss the Dunn jury selection and any other topic that you desire.  When trial begins, I will open another thread for reporting and discussion.

Justice of Jordan Davis!

 

 

Theodore Wafer Trial – Jury Selection

Ted Wafer is charged with the murder of Renisha McBride.  Jury selection starts today. There’s no live stream.

Yahtzee, as always, is doing a good job keeping up with information.  She has been reporting live tweets here.

We’ll also report in the comment section any news at the end of each day.