After two days, a jury has been seated in the First Degree Murder trial of Seth Techel. Around 5 Tuesday afternoon, Stateâ??s Attorney Andrew Prosser and Defense Counsel Steve Gardner finished making their strikes from the 40 person pool, leaving the court with 12 jurors and four alternates. The jury consists of eight men and eight women.
Prosser began the day asking jurors a variety of questions, but his primary concern was the idea of circumstantial evidence. Prosser seemed concerned that Jurors frequently donâ??t give the same weight to circumstantial evidence as they do to direct evidence, though the law considers them equally compelling.
In the afternoon, Steve Gardner began his questioning. His questions for the jury focused on their knowledge of shotguns, the weapon used to kill Lisa Caldwell Techel and their comfort level with people who have mental illness.Gardner ended his time before the panel by repeatedly asking potential jurors if they could use their minds and facts to decide the case rather than emotion.
Opening arguments are expected to begin on Wednesday morning. It may take three more weeks before the case is turned over to the panel that was selected.