Six-Member, All-Female Jury Selected In Trayvon Martin Murder Case

[Purveyor]

SANFORD, Florida | Thu Jun 20, 2013 2:57pm EDT

(Reuters) - Lawyers in Florida's Trayvon Martin murder case selected a six-member, all-female jury on Thursday to try the high-profile case against former neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman.

The jurors, selected from a final pool of 40, will decide the fate of Zimmerman, who triggered a national debate about guns, race and equal justice before the law when he shot and killed Martin, an unarmed black teenager, in a gated community in central Florida in February 2012.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/20/us-usa-florida-shooting-jury-idUSBRE95J12620130620

[snooper2]

1. LOL

Perfect

[HiPointDem]

2. florida has 6-member juries?

[bigdarryl]

7. Yeh how about that only in FL

Most of these jurors are long time residents of that town.The media is making a big deal about the female Mexican juror who has 9 kids.From what I heard the Prosecution tried to get her off the jury but the judge said no. They haven't said why they had problems with her

[Raine1967]

9. Hey, if it's good enough for DU....

Why not Florida?





Disclaimer: *THIS WAS A JOKE*

[RebelOne]

15. I have been wondering about that also.

When I lived in South Florida, I was called to jury duty, and I was selected for a 12-member jury, and the defendent had assaulted a police officer. Fortunately, the defendent plea-bargained and I did not have to serve.

[Cali_Democrat]

3. I thought juries had 12 people?

[chillfactor]

4. if Zimmerman had been charged with first-degree murder....

then there would have been 12 jurors

[Cali_Democrat]

6. ahh

[a kennedy]

14. I thought I heard they also have 6 alternates.....

[longship]

5. Why six?

Isn't it normal for twelve member juries for criminal cases?

Am I ignorant of something here?

I suppose this up to state law, but the bar for six to convict would be lower than twelve, wouldn't it?

This might not help Zimmerman.

[pnwmom]

11. That's what I was wondering. I would want twelve myself. n/t

[uppityperson]

8. Orlando Sentinel link...

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/trayvon-martin/os-george-zimmerman-trial-day-9-20130620,0,6563690.story

A jury has been selected in the George Zimmerman second-degree murder trial.

It is comprised of six women, five of them white. Attorneys are in the process of choosing the four alternates in the case.

Attorneys in the trial of George Zimmerman wrapped up jury selection questioning this morning, which means a jury will soon be seated to try Zimmerman in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.

The lawyers are currently discussing which jurors they want to strike from the jury pool, and choosing those who will ultimately try the high profile case....

[PearliePoo2]

10. The analysts were saying that the prosecution ...

would want a majority of women on the jury. Looks like they got their wish and then some.

[grok]

12. looks like the community by race ratio.

except for gender of course. 2 black folk would have over the population ratio.

The black juror is an interesting case in which she is black-hispanic. only been the area for a few months and therefore may not been exposed to the uproar in Sanford. Unlikely to have fixed black community ties that will rear it's ugly head and bite her in the end. If catholic, even less pressure would be my guess.

All being said, i think the defense has the advantage here...

[bigdarryl]

16. Why you say that ?

Because there are mostly white people on the jury? Keep in mind most of these woman are mothers who have teenaged kids.

[grok]

18. moms also know about how their boys act

Not every mom excuses fighting/violence. Martin's mom certainly didn't when she sent her son to be with his dad for a while(that's what Trayvon texted). Whether she wants to acknowledge that in public is another thing.

As far as race, take a look at ANY legit poll taken on this matter.

White opinion seems to break down to politics, left-right. gun nuts-antigun, all over the map. essentially a wash.

Black opinion is very uniform and consistent. Roughly one sided 10 to 1(like dems to reps). and subject to peer pressure/consequence because of this. i certainly wouldn't want to be a typical black juror who voted for acquittal.

Not saying a black person can't be fair. far from it But their first impressions/opinions matter.

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

19. Womens' understanding of male behavior cuts every direction in this situation.

Both the victim and the defendant are young men. Female jurors may both be suspicious of them, and sympathetic. They are also fully capable of being objective. I tend to think the latter will prevail.

The gender mix on the jury shouldn't matter, and because of the voir dire process both sides contributed equally to its selection.

[1-Old-Man]

13. Can you flip a coin six times in a row and have it come up heads every time?

How can any Jury be all women or all men?

[Nimajneb Nilknarf]

17. Yes. On average you would get six heads in a row once for every 64 trials of six coin flips.

You would also get six tails with the same frequency. The probability of six coin flips ending up the same is one in 32.