Portions Of Roeder Jury Selection Will Be Open by Cliff Judy (WICHITA, Kan.)

Portions Of Roeder Jury Selection Will Be Open

by Cliff Judy (WICHITA, Kan.)

Reporters will be allowed in the courtroom for part of Scott Roeder's jury selection. However, any questioning of jurors on "personally sensitive information" will occur in private.

Roeder has admitted to killing Wichita abortion provider Dr. George Tiller while Tiller served as an usher at his east Wichita church last May. Roeder is charged with first degree murder.

Judge Warren Wilbert ruled Wednesday morning jurors will be questioned about sensitive information on an individual basis outside the courtroom. If attorneys decide to not remove an individual juror, that person will then be called to the courtroom for general voir dire. That will include questions typically asked in jury selection for any criminal case.

KWCH-TV is one of only four media outlets allowed in the courtroom for this process.

Both prosecution and defense attorneys were concerned that if media were present during jury selection, potential jurors wouldn't be fully candid about their views on controversial issues. Judge Wilbert agreed to attorneys' requests last week to close jury selection.

KWCH-TV, the Wichita Eagle, the Kansas City Star, and the Associated Press then filed a petition with the Kansas Supreme Court challenging the judge's decision. The media outlets will not air personally sensitive information nor identify any potential jurors. The media believes in an open court as protected by the U.S. Constitution. On Tuesday night, the Supreme Court reversed Judge Wilbert's decision asking him to reconsider.

The first pool of jurors will arrive at the Sedgwick County Courthouse later this afternoon to begin questioning. It's not known how long individual questioning on "personally sensitive" issues for the 61 jurors will last or when they'll be allowed into open court for general voir dire.

The judge ruled only the four media outlets who filed the petition with the state Supreme Court will be allowed into the courtroom for general voir dire. Other media outlets will receive an audio feed outside the courtroom.

The judge also agreed to provide the media with a blank copy of the jury questionnaire, which he'd previously kept under seal.

Lyndon Vix, the attorney representing the media contingent, tells Eyewitness News the new jury selection process is obviously an unusual one. He says the presumption every potential juror needs to be questioned individually and separately in private isn't consistent with the Constitution. However, prosecutors and defense attorneys have argued Roeder's murder trial is an extremely unusual and sensitive case.

Once attorneys narrow potential jurors down to a final pool of 42, attorneys will make peremptory strikes to seat a jury.

Judge Wilbert has also ruled that though the media is allowed in the courtroom for part of jury selection, there is to be no live updates of what's happening during jury selection. For instance, reporters will not be allowed to use such online tools as Twitter.