Page 30 - Jury Selection Process News Today

In just hours, opening statements will begin in the trial of the men accused of killing ahmaud arbery. race is a central factor in the case. and the nations attention is on the nearly all-height jury. amara walker live in brunswick, georgia. what are we expecting today? >> reporter: hey, john. well, on thursday, the state and defense spent much of the day arguing what evidence should or should not be admissible when the trial begins this morning. a graphic body cam video worn by the responding o...

Have pushed the trial to now, nearly two years after his death, and after a controversial jury selection process ended with only a single black juror. joining me is nbc news correspondent ron allen, who is in brunswick, georgia. university of alabama law professor, former u.s. attorney, joyce vance. so ron, this trial has been a long time coming tell us more about the opening arguments today. >> while the prosecution has been focussing on the video we have seen, the actual encounter where arbury...

Tomorrow in the georgia murder trial controversy over the jury selection process resulting 11 white jurors and only one black juror. well hear from arberys mother in a moment on what she thinks about that. extent coverages in both cases, mar ma martin savidge and omar jimenez. defense attorneys not disputing rittenhouse fired the fatal shot but argued he did so in se self-defense. key witnesses on the stance today. some of the videos shown is graphic here is omar jimenez. >> reporter: a third da...

Jose? >> and ron, thank you. and maya, i mean, ron was just talking about that long jury selection process. the judge in the case, essentially said that his hands were tied, even if jury selection was discriminatory. how can that happen? >> reporter: unfortunately, it can happen because what the supreme court of the united states has said is, its okay to allow lawyers to strike people from the jury for no reason at all. they dont have to give a reason. as long as race is not the only reason. so ...

Discrimination. those were his words as most of the potential black jurors were disqualified from this process, but at the end of the day he ended up ruling the defense had met its burden by giving legitimate and non-discriminatory reasons as to why they were striking these job, but the judge also acknowledged, look, he to basically work within the bounds of georgia law. during this two and a half hour become and for the we saw the state putting its foot down saying the removals had to do with r...

Senior analyst joey jackson is joining us. joey, whats your reaction to the racial makeup of this jury? >> i think its problematic. i think certainly there are issues with respect to who is on that jury when you look at the demographics of the community. 70% white, 25% or 27% african-american, and you have one of the 12 jurors, right, 11 being white. i think thats a major concern, and i think it leads to the distrust that people hold for the system, particularly when you have the judge, wolf, sa...

Race was in play in this killing? >> victor, i dont think theres any doubt that race was at play here in some form or fashion. that has been on the minds not just of the lawyers, not just of the people in this community, but obviously of the potential jurors. as we went through the jury selection process, everybody was being asked questions. what did you think about the case? is race a factor? what are your views on race relation. so i think it is critically important. to get from stage 1 a coup...

Of the jury. what can we expect from the trial? and for folks not familiar with the demographics of kenosha, does this jury accurately reflect those demographics? >> reporter: hi, craig. good morning. as you mentioned, 20 jurors seated. a bit of a high number, but yes, 12 jurors will decide this case. eight will eventually be dismissed as alternates. 11 women, nine men, only one person of color. kenosha is about 65% white, so that one person of color is beneath that threshold. this jury selectio...

Test in place for selecting jurors here. >> reporter: perception is going to be everything here. its why, when the judge ruled that the word victims could not be used but the words drivers and looters could be used is so crucial prosecutors argue on this front. he has been consistent on that. every pretile hes not allowed the word "victim" to be used, but prosecutors argue now is the most crucial time. the jury selection process will begin in a few minutes at the top of the hour. up to 150 prosp...

Shootings but rittenhouse is claiming self-defense. the judge in the case has already made one controversial ruling when he said that the three men who were shot could be called rioters but not victims during the trial, so what else can we expect to hear today? >> thats right, bianna, and on that decision it comes down to perception in this case and thats why prosecutors felt that one in particular is soy crucial. he hasnt anyone use the word victim during the point ever this trial. thats when i...