Trial begins in Fla. shooting

Associated Press

SANFORD, Fla.

On the first day of his trial Monday, George Zimmerman got a look at some of the people who might decide whether he committed second-degree murder when he fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The first group of 100 potential jurors filled out questionnaires about themselves and their ability to serve on the jury as prosecutors and defense attorneys sought to find six objective members and four alternates.

In Florida, 12 jurors are required only for criminal trials involving capital cases, when the death penalty is being considered.

By the time the all-day session concluded, attorneys had interviewed four potential jurors, asking them what they had heard about the case on television, in newspapers and on the Internet.

A woman in her 50s who watches TV games shows said she believed she could be unbiased even though she knew some basic facts of the case. Another woman in her late 30s who recently moved from Chicago and works in a nursing home said she had only a passing familiarity with the case — mainly images she saw of people wearing T-shirts with Martin’s face on them.

“I really don’t know anything about the case,” said the woman, known as Juror B29. “But I believe at the end of the day, you have to listen to both sides.”

Juror B30, a 65-year-old man with hearing loss, said he recalled Martin’s parents going public about their concerns over the lack of an immediate arrest last year and, more recently, testimony over whether voice- recognition experts should be allowed to testify at trial.

“There was fault on both sides as far as I can see, two people being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Juror B30. “Two people who instigated something that could have been avoided.”

Zimmerman was present in the jury holding room as his defense attorneys and prosecutors introduced themselves to the potential jurors.

The selection of jurors who both the prosecution and defense believe can be objective in the highly publicized case is expected to take all week, if not longer. The judge has said she will keep the identities of the selected jurors anonymous, but she rejected a defense request to sequester the entire jury pool of 500 residents.