Judge Perry has selected Pinellas County as the location from which jurors will be chosen (the trial will be held in Orange County). All parties are present in the Clearwater courtroom. Questioning of jurors should begin shortly.
Jurors will be sequestered throughout the trial. I feel for them. We're not talking days or a couple of weeks here, but likely at least a couple of months away from their lives. Other than unemployed/retired folks, who can miss that much time away from a job/family? For whom would that *not* cause a hardship?
Between the sequestration, employment/personal hardship and strikes of jurors (each side can strike 10 and the judge can strike or allow more strikes), I'm afraid it may be more difficult to seat this jury than the judge anticipates. The final panel of 20 jurors (12 regular and 8 alternates) will be whittled down from the 100+ potential jurors Judge Perry wants in the initial pool.
Apparently, the way selection will work is that the potential jurors will be screened for hardship issues first. Those not excused for that reason will then fill out the juror questionnaire and subsequently be examined by each side.
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