State of Minnesota v. Kim Potter Jury Selection Day 4

The 5th day of Jury selection begins and only two more jurors are needed to complete the panel of 12 jurors, and 2 alternates.

Potter is charged with the death of Daunte Wright and faces first-degree and second-degree manslaughter. Potter WILL testify in her own case.

Jury selection was previously expected to take approximately a week, with opening statements beginning December 8. Jury selection has moved along faster than expected and Judge Regina Chu has asked attorneys to consider starting opening statements before December 8 (also pending witness availability) - said they will take one day off to finalize jury instructions. She hopes the case will wrap up by Christmas Eve, but if not, jurors would not be expected in the courtroom during the holiday.

The state has used all of its peremptory strikes, the defense has 1 remaining strike.

SEATED JUROR INFO (12 jurors, 2 more needed):

Juror #2 seated as the first juror in the Potter trial, is male, 50s, white, and works as an editor. Views Black Lives Matter favorably.

Juror #6 is female, 60s, white, and a retired special education teacher. Stated she does not like guns, is ok with protests, not riots.

Juror #7 is male, 20s, white, and works overnights for Target.

Juror #11, female, 40s, Asian, stated she was scared during the George Floyd protests.

Juror #17 1st juror of Day 2, female, 20s, white, and stated she can be open-minded.

Juror #19 is a female, 30s, Black, teacher, and mother of 2. She stated she owns a taser and owns a firearm. Says she holds law enforcement to a higher standard.

Juror #21 is a male, 40s, white, and a father of young children who has a negative opinion of both Wright and Potter. States he has a negative opinion of Blue Lives Matter, but the police make him feel safe.

Juror #22 is male, 60s, white, an RN, and stated he had a neutral impression of Wright and Potter. Thinks Minneapolis has been negatively impacted by protests.

Juror #26 is female, 20s, Asian, and works in the same building as the police, but not directly with them. Sees the phrases "Black Lives Matter" & "Blue Lives Matter" as a way for people to voice their opinion.

Juror #40 is male, a father, IT consultant, and was critical of both Potter's and Daunte Wright's actions during deadly traffic stop. Concerned about his name being made public after the verdict.

Juror #48 is female, in IT Project management and has 2 small children. Wants to serve on the jury as she feels it is her civic duty. Juror feels Wright shouldn't have died over something like expired tabs. She told the judge she can restart her thinking for the trial.

Juror #55 is male, an engineer for a cybersecurity company, was in the navy, and believes there is a systemic racism problem in the criminal justice system.

12.03.2021

State of Minnesota v. Kim Potter Jury Selection Day 2

Day 2 of jury selection continues in the trial of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter.

Potter is charged with the death of Daunte Wright and faces first-degree and second-degree manslaughter. The defense stated yesterday, Potter WILL testify in her own case.

Jury selection is expected to take approximately a week, with opening statements beginning December 8. Judge Regina Chu stated she hoped the case would wrap up by Christmas Eve, but if not, jurors would not be expected in the courtroom during the holiday.

Potential jurors were given a questionnaire prior to the selection process. Questions were asked regarding their stances on Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, and other information that may show bias toward one side or the other.

14 jurors will be seated, only 12 will deliberate the case, 2 will be alternates. The state has 2 of 3 strikes remaining, the defense has 4 of 5.

4 jurors were seated thus far :

Juror #2 seated as the first juror in the Potter trial, is male, 50s, white, and works as an editor. Views Black Lives Matter favorably.

Juror #6 is female, 60s, white, and a retired special education teacher. Stated she does not like guns, is ok with protests, not riots.

Juror #7 is male, 20s, white, and works overnights for Target.

Juror #11, female, 40s, Asian, stated she was scared during the George Floyd protests.

Judge Chu asked both sides to re-examine some juror's questionnaires to save time so they can remove any that may be "for cause"

12.01.2021

11.30.2021

State of Minnesota v. Kim Potter | Jury Selection Day 1

Jury selection in the state of Minnesota v. Kim Potter begins this morning in Hennepin County. Opening statements are slated to start on December 8.

Potter faces both first and second-degree manslaughter charges in the death of Daunte Wright. She was initially charged only with second-degree manslaughter, which requires a finding that she acted with “culpable negligence” in Wright’s death.

Potter fatally shot Wright during a routine traffic stop last April 11. Wright had been pulled over for an air freshener hanging in his mirror and expired tabs. Officer Anthony Luckey then ran a check and found that Wright had an outstanding arrest warrant for a weapons violation, so the officers returned to Wright’s car to arrest him. Wright obeyed the officer when told to get out of the car, but as he was being handcuffed, Wright pulled away to get back into his vehicle.

As Luckey held onto Wright, Potter said “I’ll tase ya.” Potter’s body camera video then shows her holding her handgun in her right hand and pointing it at Wright. Potter repeated “I’ll tase you,” and then two seconds later said “Taser, Taser, Taser.” One second later, she fired a single bullet into Wright’s chest.

“(Expletive)! I grabbed the wrong (expletive) gun,” Potter was heard saying. “I’m going to go to prison."

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office will lead the prosecution against Potter, who is being represented by defense attorneys Earl Gray and Paul Engh. Gray is the same lawyer representing Thomas Lane, one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in connection to the death of George Floyd in May 2020.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing Wright's family. Crump's office also represented George Floyd's family during Derek Chauvin's murder trial.

Hennepin County Judge Regina Chu will preside over the case. After initially denying audio and video inside the courtroom, on Nov. 9, Judge Chu issued an order allowing a camera in the courtroom during Potter's trial, citing "the fast-spreading Delta variant."