Nearly 350 potential jurors will wade through 18 pages of questions designed to help determine who will eventually sit on the 12-person jury in the capital murder trial of Arkansas City’s Justin Thurber, court officials said Monday.
Two groups of 174 people ? one of which will arrive in the morning, the other in the afternoon ? have been summoned to Baden Square on Sept. 29 to complete the questionnaire, according to district court clerk Marilyn Leith.
Those who have been called for the morning session will arrive at 9 a.m. and have three to four hours to complete the screening process.
The afternoon session begins at 1.
"We’re trying to inconvenience people as little as possible," Leith said. "But, it’s going to take some time to get through the questions."
Once a potential juror finishes with the questionnaire they will receive a card instructing them to arrive at the Cowley County Courthouse in Winfield on a specified date between Oct. 6 and Oct. 23. Prosecutors and attorneys for Thurber will then select potential jurors to participate in voir dire ? a question and answer process that takes place in the courtroom.
That process will start on Oct. 6 and continue until 12 jurors and 4 alternates are seated, court officials said. Ideally, the process would be complete by Oct. 14, the day scheduled for opening statements.
"But, if we have to push back the start of the trial to get a jury, we will," Leith said.
Thurber is on trial for the murder and sexual assault ? or attempted rape ? of Jodi Sanderholm, who was a student at Cowley College when she was killed in January 2007. The state has notified the court of its intent to ask jurors to consider the death penalty in the case.
Court officials said the possibility of the death penalty is why this jury selection process will be different than almost any other jury picking process in county history. Normally, the county calls a maximum of 55 potential jurors, depending on the crime, to produce a jury of 12 people and two alternates.
But, because so many people have knowledge of the case ? and because of defense efforts to move the trial out of Cowley County because of that knowledge ? the county is taking pains to ensure a fair trial.
The process will be more costly. Leith said those who fill out the questionnaire would get $10 each for the day ? a total cost of about $3,500 just for the pre-screening day, a step that was added just for this trial. Anyone outside of the Winfield city limits will also get paid for mileage.
Potential jurors also will get paid when they return for the actual jury selection process.
