Jury selection started today in the murder trial of Aaron Dean. He was a Fort Worth police officer when he shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson at her home.
Though originally scheduled to begin Monday morning, jury selection began Monday afternoon following the death of long-time Fort Worth councilman and Aaron Dean's lawyer, Jim Lane.
A neighbor of Jefferson had called police about an open door at her home and Dean was sent to investigate. He was fired from the force and charged with murder for the shooting.
Dean's lawyers are trying to get the trial moved to somewhere else in Texas. They say the extensive publicity about the case means he can't get a fair trial in Tarrant County.
The trial has been delayed many times for various reasons, including the pandemic, a backlog in cases and a change in judges.
But not even the death of the lead defense attorney was able to delay Monday's jury selection for more than a few hours.
The jury pool consisted of 200 people; 195 showed up Monday afternoon.
Judge George Gallagher opened by asking the potential jurors whether they had any knowledge of the case, and about half raised their hands.
Those people will return to the courthouse on Wednesday for questioning, while those who indicated they had no prior knowledge will be brought back on Thursday.
All were given a 25-page questionnaire to fill out on their opinions of use of force, law enforcement in general and other things; attorneys for both the prosecution and defense will review the answers Tuesday.
Judge Gallagher hopes to have a jury of 12 and two alternates seated by the end of the week, with opening statements slated for next Monday.
The trial is expected to take about a week and a half, and Judge Gallagher said he will work around Jim Lane's funeral arrangements.
Gallagher, meanwhile, has not yet ruled on a defense motion to have the trial moved out of Tarrant County, given the intense pre-trial publicity.
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