After four days of jury selection, the trial of Paul Gutierrez Jr.

Monday, February 25, 2002

After four days of jury selection, the trial of Paul Gutierrez Jr., 28, who is accused of killing 18-month-old Makio Radke, was set to start today with opening statements by prosecutor William Klumpp Jr. and defense attorney Michael A. York.

Twelve jurors and two alternates selected from a 56-mamber jury pool will sit at the two-week-long court battle. Ten of them are women. &uot;I believe we have a fair-minded jury,&uot; said County Attorney Craig Nelson.

The jury selection was closed to the public by Judge James Broberg’s order.

But lawyer Chester Swenson, who has experienced a number of criminal cases including a murder trial, said jury selection was surely difficult.

&uot;Not many people want to be a juror when a victim is a child,&uot; said Swenson. &uot;It is not a pleasant experience, especially when sexual abuse is allegedly involved like this case.&uot;

Potential bias among jurors was another factor that likely made the process hard, according to Swenson.

&uot;What they had to do was to find somebody who can take an objective look at evidence that would make you physically sick,&uot; Swenson said.

Identifying a prospective juror’s partiality by asking if somebody close has ever been a victim of sexual abuse or domestic assault would be a crucial question that Swenson thinks would be asked in this case.

It is assumed that the concerns about bias have been especially troubling for the defense attorney.

York declined to comment on the selection. But his struggle is evident from the fact that the defense exercised 13 out of 15 peremptory challenges – allowing him to unilaterally eliminate jurors -&160;that were allowed. The prosecutor used only three.

Various profiling strategies are applied during jury selection. There are even legal consulting firms that provide services for profiling desirable jurors.

&uot;Educated jurors are usually better for both sides, because they are more likely to get past their emotions and decide based on laws,&uot; Swenson said.

The jury needs to reach a verdict unanimously. &uot;It means if the defense can convince one person, that person can hold up the trial,&uot; Swenson said.

Swenson also said it is important to have in mind who would be the foreperson.

The foreperson directs the deliberations in the jury room, and may have a strong influence on the course of discussion among jurors.

In the Gutierrez case, the jury selection process was conducted behind closed doors, which Swenson said is unusual.

The most recent murder trial he served on was a double-murder case last June. Because of prejudicial media publicity, the trial was moved from Mower County to Dakota County. However, the jury selection was open to the public, according to Swenson.