Questioning Jurors for the Komisarjevsky Trial

She was a Hamden resident, the divorced mother of two teenagers, a Sunday school teacher — and she opposes capital punishment.

Given your opposition to the death penalty, could you listen to the judge’s instructions and render a verdict according to those instructions?" asked Jeremiah Donovan, one of Komisarjevsky’s lawyers, during jury selection in New Haven on Thursday morning.

"Given your opposition to the death penalty, could you listen to the judge’s instructions and render a verdict according to those instructions?" asked Jeremiah Donovan, one of Komisarjevsky’s lawyers, during jury selection in New Haven on Thursday morning.

Yes, she said. She could.

Judge Jon C. Blue noted  that the court is looking for jurors who won’t let their personal views about the death penalty influence their decisions. Their decisions should be based on the evidence and the instructions he gives on the law, Blue said.

Many people who are called for jury selection are religious, the judge noted. "But the instructions are secular and we expect you to follow the instructions."

Again, the woman said she could.

Donovan shifted to a different issue. If some jurors ganged up on another juror, would she defend that juror’s right to hold his own point of view?

Yes, said the woman from Hamden.

Blue interjected again. On jury duty, people are supposed to listen to each other and have a give and take, he explained. Blue often excuses jurors he feels are not suitable, sparing the state or the defense from having to use their peremptory challenges to dismiss them.

The woman has a 13-year-old daughter. Donovan said on the jury she would hear evidence that Komisarjevsky had sexually assaulted a girl about that age. He asked if she could ignore any personal feelings that might cause, and she said yes.

Next, it was State’s Attorney Michael Dearington turn to question her. He asked what she thought her employer would do if she was accepted for the Komisarjevsky jury. If she lost the job because of serving on the jury, what would she do?

She said she was confident she could get another job and it would not cause a financial hardship.

Following a recess, the state used a peremptory challenge to excuse her from the jury.

The next juror, a man in his 30s, said he had heard a lot about the case and was convinced that Komisarjevsky is guilty.

 Blue thanked him and excused him and called the next juror, a woman from Meriden who was the mother of two young children. She told defense lawyer Walter Bansley that she didn’t know any reason she couldn’t be fair as a member of the jury, but would have to arrange for childcare.

Bansley noted some of the evidence could be upsetting. Would that be a problem for her? She said no. Did she want to serve on the jury? No, she said, she didn’t.

The Meriden woman admitted she heard of the case, but said she was too busy to follow it much.

She also said she opposes the death penalty and doesn’t believe she could impose it. Blue said there were three kinds of jurors, those for the death penalty, those against it, and those who would decide based on the evidence regardless whether they were for or against it. When she replied she was one of those against it, he excused her.

The next juror was another woman about 40 years old, also a Meriden resident, and a divorced mother who worked as the manager of a restaurant kitchen. "I feel I’m a fair individual," she told Dearington, who started the questioning.

Blue told her jurors take an oath to decide the case based on the evidence. "Can you assure us if you become a juror you could be faithful to that oath?" he asked.

The woman from Meriden said she could.

She said she did not have strong opinions for or against the death penalty. As for this case, she knew some of the details, that it started as a home invasion and ended with a triple homicide. She also knew that another defendant had been found guilty in an earlier trial.

"Do you understand that sympathy cannot have any bearing on this case?" Dearington asked. Yes, and she could make her decisions based on the evidence, she said.

After she told the court she didn't know if she could have an open mind during the penalty phase, Blue excused her and called a recess.

The lawyers and prosecutors must choose 12 jurors, six alternates and three backup alternates for the trial, which is scheduled to begin in September.

Three jurors have been chosen since jury selection started on March 16, out of more than 200 who have gone through the questioning process.

The slow process isn’t unexpected. It took months to choose the jury for Komisarjevsky’s co-defendant, Steven Hayes, during his trial last year.

The lawyers and prosecutors must choose 12 jurors, six alternates and three backup alternates for the trial, which is scheduled to begin in September.

Three jurors have been chosen since jury selection started on March 16, out of more than 200 who have gone through the voir dire process.

The slow process isn’t unexpected. It took months to choose the jury for Komisarjevsky’s co-defendant, Steven Hayes, during his trial last year.

Jury selection for Komisarjevsky is scheduled to continue on Monday.