By Rich McKay

(Reuters) – The trial of Ahmaud and Ahmaud, three black men charged with murdering Black jogger Ahmaud arbery was halted by a Georgia court. This demonstrates the difficulty of finding individuals who are not able to form a firm opinion based only on a viral footage of the shooting.

“I saw the news footage and I saw the video footage of the crime, and I’ve already formed a guilty opinion of the crime,” one woman told the court earlier this week.

Arbery’s murder just outside Brunswick (NYSE;), Georgia, February 2020 sparked outrage nationwide. Protests erupted after the cellphone footage taken by one defendant went viral.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers insist that they don’t want jurors unfamiliar with the case or who haven’t seen it. They are simply trying to find out if potential jurors have the ability to disregard any of their opinions and take a decision on the evidence before them.

Gregory McMichael (65), his son Travis McMichael (35) and William “Roddie Bryan (52) are facing murder, aggravated attack, and false imprisonment charges. They could be sentenced to life imprisonment if they are convicted of all the charges.

Timothy Walmsley (Superior Court Judge) told defense attorneys and prosecutors that they should speed up. He said that he was not happy with the speed at which juror selection began Monday.

Late Thursday night, 23 of the 80 Glynn County residents who were interviewed had been selected for the 64-member group. The final 12 jurors, as well as four alternates, will hear the case.

Walsley stated that the selection process could continue into next week, or even beyond. Although the court was closed on Friday, jury selection will be resumed on Monday.

CITIZEN’S ARM DEFENSE

Interviews with defense lawyers have revealed that they intend to base their case heavily on an obsolete version of the “citizen’s arrested” law, which permits people to arrest anyone suspected of committing a crime. According to the defendants, Arbery was thought to be a burglar. The shooting occurred in self defense after Arbery wrestled with Travis McMichael who had a shotgun.

Arbery was an avid runner who fell to the ground in the suburbs after being shot three times.

A potential juror was disqualified because he had seen the video six times, and stated to the court that he believed the men were guilty. They murdered him. They killed him as part of a team.

Another said, “The only time I’ve heard of citizen’s arrest is in ‘The Andy Griffith show’,” the 1960s TV comedy about a small-town sheriff.

He said he was open to hearing both sides of the story. Everyone deserves their chance in the courtroom. It’s the foundation of our country, it’s the rule of law.”

One-third of the people who were brought before the court on Thursday said that they only had clips and two others stated they didn’t have it.

“I didn’t want to see somebody killed,” said one man in his 70s.

Chris Slobogin is a Vanderbilt University professor of law. He said that picking fair juries has become more difficult in these days thanks to social media and cellphones.

“It is obvious everyone has seen it,” he stated. I think the judge will find 12 jurors. The trick is to discern if an individual is lying when they tell you they cannot set aside the video.

One nurse said that she was unsure if she can be impartial and fair in her jury role.

“I feel firmly that I could do that,” she said.

An elderly auto shop owner said another potential juror would not be able to overlook the video.

“Some things are just too obvious to ignore,” he stated.