Two prospective jurors, each with tangential connections to the case, left prosecutors and defense lawyers at odds Thursday in selecting a jury for Alfonso Rodriguez Jr.'s trial.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson excused one of the prospective jurors - a friend of a Marshall Field's employer who plans to testify she sold a purse to Dru Sjodin moments before her abduction - and hasn't ruled on the other.
In the trial's fifth day, the judge approved four people for the next phase of jury selection. It gives the court 18 people for the final jury pool.
The court must qualify 70 people before lawyers pick a jury to hear the case against Rodriguez, a twice-convicted sex offender who denies kidnapping and killing Sjodin.
"There is progress, and I think we see it," said Allan Sjodin, the victim's father, who has sat through each of the face-to-face interviews with the judge, lawyers and prospective jurors.
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Once a jury is seated, the trial could take five to six weeks.
Selecting a jury has been a tedious process despite time limits for lawyers and the judge explaining complex rules to prospective jurors.
Interviews take 30 to 40 minutes, and many potential jurors appear confused. They must presume Rodriguez is innocent but answer hypothetical questions about capital punishment.
"It's going to take on a process that will become more methodical," U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said after court.
He declined to comment about a questionnaire answered last month by prospective jurors. The wording of the questions confused many.
In debate over the juror who knows the department store cashier, Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Reisenauer asked the court to interview her because the issues aren't different than with another would-be juror, hired by the defense to copy a video, interviewed Thursday.
Reisenauer said it's strange to have prospective jurors know people who have handled evidence in a case.
Richard Ney, a death penalty specialist appointed along with Robert Hoy to represent Rodriguez, objected before the judge excused the friend of the store clerk without an interview.
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At the beginning of a
40-minute interview, the woman who copied the video for the defense said she planned to marry Aug. 19, a date likely to fall during the trial. She also campaigned for East Central District Judge Steven McCullough, who worked with Hoy at a West Fargo law firm.
Prosecutors asked the judge to bump the woman from the jury pool, but he took the request under advisement.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Steven P. Wagner at (701) 241-5542
