CHICAGO _ Four people were chosen Monday on the first day of jury selection in the trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who faces first-degree murder charges in the 2014 shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald _ a killing that roiled the city for months.
The four jurors include a stay-at-home mother, a financial analyst, a records keeper and an older man whose church has encouraged its members to speak with black people about their experiences with racial injustice. All acknowledged knowing something about the case, but all promised they could give the embattled officer a fair trial for shooting McDonald based solely on the evidence heard in court.
One selected juror, a white man who appears to be in his 60s and told the judge he was gay, said that he read newspaper accounts of the shooting but that he had never seen the video of Van Dyke, who is white, shooting McDonald multiple times. Though he heeded his church's call to speak with black people about the prejudice they have faced, the man said he would not hold those stories against Van Dyke.
"This case is this case," the juror said. "I don't think it's a referendum on the state of the country or the state of my friends."
Neither side objected to his inclusion, just as they both agreed to select a young financial analyst for the panel. The man _ who appeared nervous and rarely spoke above a whisper _ said he did not believe police officers were infallible.
"Everyone must abide by the law," he wrote in his juror questionnaire, "even law-enforcement officers."
With their selection, the jury now has two white members, one Asian-American man and one Hispanic woman. The defense has used two peremptory strikes _ which allow them to reject a candidate for almost any reason _ to dismiss a black candidate and a Hispanic woman. The prosecution used the first of its seven strikes on a white man who does not believe police officers should be prosecuted for on-duty incidents.
Van Dyke's attorneys already have signaled their concerns about black jurors from Cook County. Based on an internal poll, the defense contended that 98.5 percent of local African-Americans who have seen the video don't believe Van Dyke was in danger when he shot McDonald _ an opinion that strikes at the heart of the officer's self-defense argument.
Legal precedent holds that attorneys cannot strike jurors because of their race, so they often offer other reasons for the dismissal. In the case of one black prospective juror who repeatedly said she believed there were three sides to every story, the officer's lawyers told the judge that they were concerned that she had children around the same age as McDonald and that she lived on the West Side, the same area where McDonald was shot.
Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan dismissed their concerns, prompting the defense to use one of its strikes to dismiss her.
"Her answers were outstanding, better than good," the judge said.
The fact that four jurors had been selected on the first day of jury selection suggested that concerns it would be impossible to find 12 fair-minded jurors after years of extensive pretrial publicity may be overblown. Indeed, the R. Kelly child pornography case _ which was presided over by the same judge and had the same selection process _ selected only three jurors on its first day.
Still, Van Dyke's legal team continued its bid to move the trial outside Cook County, filing additional paperwork that protests outside the courthouse last week created a "carnival" atmosphere, further muddying efforts to find an unbiased jury. Van Dyke's lawyers also raised concerns that jurors from Cook County would be "paralyzed by fear" to acquit Van Dyke.
"It is abundantly clear that the community will riot if Van Dyke is not found guilty," the filing said. "It is impossible that a juror will vote to acquit knowing that they must return to the neighborhoods which have promised violence in the event of a not guilty verdict."
To be sure, the majority of prospective jurors appeared tense to be part of the high-profile case that roiled Chicago since a video was released showing Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times. At least two asked for water during their questioning, and the judge often had to tell them to relax, assuring them that everyone in the room _ the attorneys and himself included _ were nervous.
But none expressed any fears about rendering a verdict, though the judge routinely stopped defense attempts to ask candidates if they were worried about how their neighbors would react if they acquitted Van Dyke.
The first juror selected said she saw the protests outside the courthouse but didn't think much about them. She said she paid so little notice to the chants and signs that she didn't know if they were speaking out against Van Dyke or in his support.
"I did see it, but I didn't pay attention," she said. "I just kept walking."
In all, 14 people were questioned before a mid-afternoon break. Nine were dismissed either for "cause" or because the prosecution or defense used one of their peremptory challenges to exclude them from the jury. Among those removed for cause, at least two acknowledged they could not be fair to Van Dyke and at least three others said the trial would pose a financial difficulty.
Gaughan also excused a Lithuanian-born woman who spoke limited English and an African-American woman who was the primary caregiver for her hospitalized sister.
The second juror selected _ the records keeper _ said in her answers to a questionnaire that she had seen the video of Van Dyke shooting McDonald as well as some of the extensive media coverage of the case.
She told Gaughan she was willing to put that all aside and render a verdict based on what she hears in court.
"I want to see some evidence before coming to an opinion," she had answered in one written question.
When asked by the judge to expand on that answer, the woman said, "I have a belief about innocent until proven guilty."
The defense homed in on quickly when the woman said her significant other works for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. McDonald was in the custody of that agency as a child.
When she left the room after questioning, Van Dyke's lead attorney, Daniel Herbert, asked Gaughan to remove the woman from the panel for cause, saying her partner's employment would make it difficult for her to remain fair.
"She certainly has expressed her feelings of sympathy towards these kids," Herbert said.
"But who wouldn't sympathize with a victim of a violent crime?" said Gaughan, noting that the woman answered survey questions in an evenhanded and "concrete" way.
After Gaughan declined to remove the woman for cause, Van Dyke's lawyers held a long, hushed discussion before deciding not to use one of their peremptory strikes to keep her off the jury.
Officials have estimated it could take a week or more to pick 12 jurors and four alternates for a trial that could take three weeks. As many as 200 would-be jurors filled out questionnaires last week.
Unlike in most criminal trials, jury selection for this case is not being held in the courtroom. Instead, Gaughan is questioning jurors in a small room next to his chambers at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Both sides are gathered at a conference table with prospective jurors seated at the head. Gaughan sits on the candidate's right and does most of the questioning.
Van Dyke, by the defense team's choice, is seated at the far end of the table. Three members of the news media and three members of the public also are present.
Gaughan has used the same approach during other high-profile cases in his courtroom. He believes the more intimate setting makes prospective jurors feel more comfortable answering sensitive questions.
Neither the defense nor the prosecution ultimately raised any objections to the first juror's inclusion on the panel, though Van Dyke's attorneys at initially asked Gaughan to dismiss her before she was even questioned, expressing concern about how she would juggle her family responsibilities if she were sequestered for weeks during the trial. Gaughan refused to dismiss her, though, and the defense raised no further objections after she had been questioned.
The inquiry marked the first time anyone has publicly suggested that the jurors would be sequestered during the trial. A questionnaire filled out by potential jurors Wednesday _ it remains under seal by Gaughan's order _ has about 125 questions, including one asking prospective jurors how difficult it would be for them to be housed at a hotel for the duration of the trial.
The first selected juror told the judge it would be difficult for her family if she were selected and her significant other would have to miss work to help care for the children, all of whom are under age 10.
If forced to serve, she said, she could be fair to Van Dyke.
"I respect police officers and think they just do their jobs," she wrote on her questionnaire.
The judge asked her to look at Van Dyke and say whether she could promise him to be fair. The woman did as instructed, saying, "Yes." Van Dyke kept his head down as he scribbled on a notepad and did not make eye contact with her.
"Once you've seen (the video) it's hard to deny McDonald was murdered," Herbert said one dismissed juror wrote in her questionnaire. "I also believe there is a cover-up in an attempt to protect the police and the mayor."
The judge asked the woman, who is a teacher, if she could put aside her opinion and consider only the evidence. The woman hesitated, then said she could not.
"With any other case I would say yes," she said. "With this one, I have to say no."
The woman was dismissed without objections from either side.
Another prospective juror was dismissed after Gaughan asked him to look at Van Dyke and say whether he could be fair. The man answered "no." Again, Van Dyke did not look at the juror.
Though Van Dyke engaged in the selection process by reading the questionnaires and pointing out concerns to his attorneys, he rarely looked directly at the jurors and occasionally appeared to be staring out the window.
The selection process began with two major unanswered questions still looming over the case. Gaughan has delayed ruling on a defense request to move the trial outside Cook County because of what the defense considers prejudicial news coverage. The judge said he would decide after jury selection began, hinting he believed a fair jury could be impaneled here.
Perhaps as a result of that delay, the defense team has also yet to formally announce whether it will seek a jury trial at all. Van Dyke's legal team still could opt for Gaughan to decide Van Dyke's fate.
Van Dyke, 40, a veteran of nearly 13 years with the Chicago Police Department, faces six counts of first-degree murder, 16 counts of aggravated battery and one count of official misconduct for shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times in October 2014.
Police dashboard camera video released by court order more than a year after the shooting shows Van Dyke opening fire within seconds of exiting his squad vehicle as the 17-year-old McDonald, holding a knife, appears to walk away from police, contradicting reports from officers at the scene that the black teen had threatened officers with the weapon.
The release of the graphic video led to months of protests and political upheaval in Chicago.
