Jury Selection Process In Capital Gazette Shooting Begins Friday With Pool Of 300 People
ANNAPOLIS (WJZ) - A jury pool of 300 people will appear in Anne Arundel County Court Friday to answer questionnaires ahead of next month's scheduled jury selection in the case against accused Capital Gazette gunman Jarrod Ramos.
"To find people who haven't formed an opinion, one way or another, is going to be difficult," Anne Arundel County defense attorney John H. Robinson said Thursday. "I've never, in 30-plus years here, heard of a case where they brought in 300 jurors."
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Ramos is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the 2018 shooting deaths of five Capital Gazette journalists, Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendi Winters.
He pleaded not guilty and not criminally responsible in the murders.
"That's one of the problems in the case is there has been so much pretrial publicity," Robinson, who is not directly involved in the case, said. "Certain people would be called back, then the actual voir dire process would take place."
Judge Laura Ripken is overseeing the trial, where there are two motions hearings next week. Jury selection is set to begin October 30.
Jurors are expected to be tested "not only in time, but in emotion," Robinson said. "This is going to be a tough one to sit through."
