Kim Potter Trial Nears Jury Selection Completion with Key Insights from Experts (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: THE KIM POTTER TRIAL IS GETTING CLOSER TO SEATING A JURY. TODAY ON CCX NEWS, SOME PERSPECTIVE ON JURY SELECTION. ON THURSDAY MORNING, A TENTH JUROR WAS SEATED. HERE IS THE BREAKDOWN, WITH FIVE MEN AND FIVE WOMEN SELECTED AS OF THURSDAY AFTERNOON. A TOTAL OF TWELVE JURORS AND TWO ALTERNATES ARE NEEDED FOR THE TRIAL OF KIM POTTER, CHARGED WITH FIRST AND SECOND DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER IN THE DEATH OF DANTE WRIGHT DURING A TRAFFIC STOP LAST APRIL. REPORTER SONIA GOENS TALKED WITH A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY FROM ROGERS ABOUT JURY SELECTION STRATEGY BY BOTH THE DEFENSE AND PROSECUTION.

Speaker 2: I've been a little bit surprised at some of the defense strategy.

Speaker 3: Matt Holson is a criminal defense attorney with Martin and Wagner and Rogers and he's watching jury selection.

Speaker 2: Referring to her as my client doesn't humanize Kim Potter for the jury.

Speaker 3: Jury selection has gone fairly quickly so far. Attorney Holson says the prosecution is looking for jurors who are not going to blindly accept what Potter did.

Speaker 2: So they want folks that are going to listen to the testimony, ask themselves, was this a reasonable mistake or not? And if it wasn't a reasonable mistake, they're looking for people that are going to be ultimately willing to say she's guilty of the charges.

Speaker 3: On the other side, Potter's defense attorneys want to see people who favor law enforcement.

Speaker 2: I think the defense is looking for people that are generally sort of pro-law enforcement, have maybe been disturbed by some of the civil unrest that occurred after the George Floyd murder.

Speaker 3: The jury is mostly white and Holson says the demographics are not favorable for the state. He says prosecutors would prefer a more diverse panel.

Speaker 2: You know, I think white folks generally don't have the same sort of negative experiences with law enforcement that people of color do. White folks are going to be more likely to defer to what Officer Potter did here.

Speaker 3: Kim Potter told the judge that she will take the stand in her own defense. Holson says while this is uncommon, defense attorneys don't usually show their hand this early in the trial process.

Speaker 2: I generally would not make a decision about whether or not the person I'm representing is going to testify before seeing what evidence the state's going to present.

Speaker 3: Opening statements are expected to begin December 8th. Sonya Goins, CCX News.

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