THE FOLLOWING ARE THE TUESDAY UPDATES FROM THE FULTON COUNTY COURTHOUSE…
(3:15 PM) – All twelve jury members have been selected, with two alternates in the wings.
WROI reports that the selections are six male and six female, with the alternates being one male and one female.
The court also ruled that there will be a lottery each morning for media coverage. With only six seats reserved for media in the room, and nearly double the amount of media members at the courthouse on Tuesday, a lottery will be held each day to see who will fill those seats.
========
(2:00 PM) – After a recess for lunch, the court finished with their first grouping of 65 jury selections and will begin on the second grouping of 65. The court is looking to dwindle down the jury to twelve people with two alternates.
Jon Bowen of WROI in Rochester says 20-25 witnesses are scheduled to take the stand throughout the trial.
========
(11:15 AM) – Jury selection began at 9:50 Tuesday morning. Potential jurors began arriving just after 8 AM, and it was estimated between 130 and 140 jurors arrived. Before the selection process, the potential jurors were taken into a room to watch a video. Some of those that arrived had left, while others remained to await selection.
The jurors are being taken into the courtroom on an individual basis after an initial group was taken in. The jurors are being selected through two groups, one that started this morning and one that is expected to start after 1 PM. Proceedings today will be completed by 5 PM.
Six media members were allowed into the courtroom, however News Now Warsaw was not one of those outlets. News Director Nick Deranek was one of a handful of other media outlets, including those from South Bend and Indianapolis, that arrived to the Fulton County Courthouse this morning and were told Tuesday morning that they needed a special credential from court security to access the courtroom.
In several phone calls to the Fulton County Court and Prosecutor’s Office, News Now Warsaw was informed that only a select number of media members would be allowed into the courtroom, but a process was not determined. Other members of the media were also just learning about the credential that was needed.
To what I understand, roughly six media members were either pre-selected or were given information on how to obtain credentials, while in recent weeks, I was under the influence (through phone calls) that things would come on a first come, first serve basis.
— Nick Deranek (@NNWarsaw_Nick) October 15, 2019
A court officer informed those without the credentials that a waiting list will be available starting tomorrow morning through the rest of the week that media will be called on a first come, first serve basis depending on who signed up in what order on the sheet. If a vacant media seat becomes available, the first name signed in will have priority to the seat. But if all seats remain taken, then media members without a credential will be required to sit in the hallway outside of the courtroom and wait until a recess in court proceedings.
News Director Nick Deranek will continue to be in Rochester today covering the proceedings and providing any updates despite the restricted access. You can follow his updates on his Twitter account by following him @NNWWarsaw_Nick.
========
(6:30 AM) – The jury selection in the trial for a Rochester woman who hit and killed three children and injured a fourth waiting for a school bus in Fulton County will begin this morning.
Alyssa Shepherd faces three felony counts of reckless homicide, a misdemeanor count of passing a school bus with its safety arm extended, and a charge for criminal recklessness. She faces a maximum sentence of 21.5 years if convicted on all charges.
The crash garnered national attention and prompted a new safety mandate to be passed in Indiana in April.
Jury selection begins at 8:30 AM.
