LAS VEGAS (CN) — After two days of questioning a pool of around 60 prospective jurors, prosecutors and defense attorneys finally assembled their jury Tuesday afternoon to decide the fate of Robert Telles, a former Clark County administrator accused of murdering reporter Jeff German.
Police say Telles laid in wait at German's home before ambushing and stabbing him to death in September 2022. German had previously authored several investigative stories for the Las Vegas Review-Journal about the toxic work environment in the Clark County Administrator's Office led by Telles, who now faces life in prison if convicted.
In the second day of jury selection, defense attorney Robert Draskovich asked the jurors if they would be comfortable with a defense that accused police officers of lying and withholding evidence — a line of questioning that reflects Telles' claim that police framed him for the murder.
"You're not supposed to leave your experiences at the door," Draskovich said — direct contradicting the prosecution's repeated pleas throughout Monday and Tuesday morning that jurors be willing to do just that.
Draskovich also presented jurors with another question: were they willing to stand up for what they saw as true, even if all the other jurors disagreed with them? He posited that jurors should arrive at their conclusions as individuals, not as a group.
If even one juror follows this advice and opposes the majority, it would result in a mistrial, since every verdict must be reached unanimously.
The prosecution's case relies heavily on the testimony of law enforcement officials, with 20 of their 32 witnesses working for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Prosecutor Christopher Hamner emphasized to jurors that they should leave their personal feelings about law enforcement at the door and remain impartial during Monday's round of questioning
On Tuesday, Hamner continued narrowing down the jury pool by removing jurors who might be less likely to trust police testimony. He questioned individual jurors on statements made in their juror questionnaires, in which they described police using terms such as "unfair," "corrupt," "racist" and "agents of the state."
Hamner gave these jurors a chance to explain their reasoning, gently prodding them to either commit to leaving their preconceptions at the door or admit that they would not be able to do so.
If they said they couldn't ignore their prejudices, Hamner usually moved to dismiss the juror — a motion that Draskovich usually opposed. On these occasions, Draskovich would ask follow-up questions that allowed the jurors to state that they were still able to remain impartial despite their opinion of law enforcement.
This strategy did not prevent Hamner from whittling down the jury pool as the day went on.
"As you may have noticed, we've run out of jurors to fill the box," Clark County District Judge Michelle Leavitt said before calling a recess to allow time for an additional 28 prospective jurors to arrive.
Draskovich's questioning took less than an hour, giving the attorneys enough time to narrow the jury pool down to fourteen — seven men and seven women. This group will be sworn in Wednesday morning before the prosecution and defense give their opening statements. The trial is expected to last about two weeks before the jurors will be asked to return a verdict.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Republicans challenge digital IDs for voting in North Carolina September 12, 2024 -
Witness: Boulder grocery store shooting suspect shouted ‘this is fun’ September 12, 2024
