Eight people were selected Tuesday for the jury in the murder trial of Jeffery D. Trevino, and 16 were dismissed, including one woman who helped search for a missing teen and one man whose friend was stabbed about two dozen times and killed.
Twenty-four prospective jurors were meticulously questioned by Ramsey County District Judge Leonardo Castro, prosecutors and Trevino's attorney, John Conard. Conard focused much of his attention on how much media coverage surrounding the case that jurors had consumed and whether that caused them to reach an opinion on Trevino's guilt or innocence.
Conard has expressed concern that the high media exposure could taint the jury pool. But as veteran attorneys say, and Tuesday's jury selection bore out, people who have some knowledge of an alleged crime can still be fit to serve. Many of the jurors selected admitted that they read or saw news stories about the disappearance and death of Trevino's wife, Kira Steger, but said they could be impartial in court.
Trevino, 39, faces two counts of second-degree murder in the death of the 30-year-old Steger, who went missing Feb. 22 and was found in the Mississippi River on May 8.
A person's objectivity, critical thinking skills and belief in the presumption of innocence are key, attorneys said.
"The question will be, 'Even if you know something about this case, can you set that aside and make your decision based on evidence presented in this case?' " said Joseph Daly, emeritus professor at Hamline University's School of Law. "And almost everyone will say yes."
Defense attorney Murad Mohammad represents clients all over Minnesota, but half of his practice is in Ramsey County. Recently, Mohammad represented Steven E. Lewis, convicted of luring a man with a fake Craigslist ad and then fatally shooting him in the head, and Joseph H. Campbell, convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the gang retaliation murder of Naressa Turner.
Mohammad said he doesn't automatically rule out jurors who have knowledge of an event.