BRUNSWICK, Ga. — Thirty potential jurors will be moving to the next round of questioning as jury selection in the federal hate crimes trial for three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in 2020 began Monday. The remaining 22 jurors questioned were dismissed.
All three men, Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan, will be present for the trial. On Friday, Travis McMichael withdrew a guilty plea he had entered in hopes of striking a sentencing deal. His father, Gregory McMichael, had done the same on Thursday.
In November, a jury found both McMichaels and Bryan guilty of murder in Arbery's death. The three white men chased 25-year-old Arbery, who was Black, through Brunswick's Satilla Shores neighborhood before shooting him to death.
The judge denied the terms of the deal prosecutors had made with the McMichaels in a pre-trial hearing Monday. A plea deal was not offered for Bryan.
Jury selection is expected to take a while. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood plans to call about 1,000 people for jury duty, the same number that was called for the state trial. In the federal trial, however, they'll pull people from all 43 counties in Georgia's Southern Federal Court district to try to get a fair and impartial jury of 12 jurors and four alternates.
In the state trial, it took more than two weeks to find a jury. Potential jurors were summoned just from Glynn County.
Updates:
6:01 p.m.: Family of Ahmaud Arbery told they are being kept from jury selection because it is closed to the public. The court's clerk denied this claim saying there are rows blocked off specifically for the Arbery family.
“The jury process continues to be open to the media and the victim’s family," the clerk told First Coast News. "The court continues to encourage maximum participation from the family.”
5:30 p.m.: Out of a pool of 52 jurors questioned, 30 were selected to move on to the next round of questioning. The remaining 22 jurors were dismissed.
3:41 p.m.: Everyone has heard something about the case, however, no one knew personally knew the defendants or Arbery or his family
- Potential juror #71 knew Gregory Michael’s attorney’s law partner and was excused
- Potential juror #73 said he had a bias/prejudice against/for defense/prosecutors, also said the fact that race is a part of this trial affects his ability to be fair
- Potential juror #98 said defendants’ failure to testify leads them to believe they are guilty
Arbery’s mother isn’t coming for jury selection. Arbery’s father said it’s different for the federal case and “believe me if I could be there I would”.
1:44 p.m.: Jurors are pulled into a separate room one by one for voir dire questioning. It’s not open to media.
Out of the first 25 this morning, nine were excused and 16 come back next week for further jury selection, asked to call the clerk by this Sunday at the latest to see if they’re still needed.
Among the excused are a woman with ADHD, woman who knew Roddie and man who said if the defendants didn’t testify that means they're guilty, among others.
No one knew Arbery or his family members.
The next group of 25 for the day starts at 2 p.m.
Jury selection underway in federal hate crimes trial for Ahmaud Arbery's convicted murderers
11:05 a.m.: All potential jurors have heard about this case. The witness list is about 30-40 people long (defense is calling six, including local attorney who released the video of the shooting)
Judge says the trial is approximately going to last seven to 12 days after the jury is picked.
10:52 a.m.: So far, 25 potential jurors have been brought in, 15 men and 10 women. Six of the potential jurors were Black. Another 25 will be brought in later today.
No family members from Arbery's side of the defendants' side were present.
The court is trying to reach 36 as its "magic number" to then narrow down to 12 jurors and four alternates. All potential jurors said they have heard about this case.
The judge said the trial is going to last approximately seven to 12 days after the jury is seated. The witness list is about 30 or 40 people long, with the defense planning to call just six, including Alan Tucker, who is the local attorney who released the video of the shooting.
- Number 35 - Said they thought defendants were guilty; said they are not adequate to serve due to having ADHD; was excused
- Number 3 - Knows Bryan, who worked in her farm equipment for the last six years and said she "feels sorry for him" but would try to be impartial; she was excused
- Number 50 - Thought failure of defendants to testify means they are guilty
Several potential jurors have family who are or were law enforcement. Several also have experience with the criminal justice system as either victim or defendant, or have family members who do.
9 a.m.: A group of 25 potential jurors will be brought in the morning to be questioned each day. Another group of 25 will be brought in the afternoon. The judge said jury selection will likely be a marathon, not a sprint. The trial is expected to last three to four weeks.