The jury selection process for the high-profile trial has commenced, with a total of 12 jurors and 6 alternates set to be chosen from a pool of hundreds of New Yorkers. The selection process is expected to be exhaustive and may extend beyond the first week of the trial.
Court officials anticipate approximately 500 new jurors to appear daily for the selection process. Groups of about 100 prospective jurors at a time will be brought into Judge Juan Merchan's courtroom for vetting.
On the first day of jury selection, 96 prospective jurors were brought in for questioning and sworn in just after 2:30 p.m. Approximately 50 individuals were immediately excused after stating they could not be fair and impartial. Additionally, nine more prospective jurors were excused for undisclosed reasons.
During the questioning process, Merchan called 18 New Yorkers to the jury box for further examination, with 10 individuals being questioned by the end of the day. One juror was dismissed due to firmly held beliefs about a key figure in the trial, while another was excused as their child's wedding conflicted with the trial schedule.
Looking ahead, there are nine more jurors in the box awaiting questioning, and Merchan indicated that the remaining individuals from the first group would be questioned the following day. Following the completion of the initial group, another panel of potential jurors will be brought in for consideration.
