MANITOWOC - Attorneys for the prosecution and defense in the Steven Avery trial have selected the 16 member jury panel.
They alternated making peremptory strikes until each side had struck seven jurors, leaving a 12 member jury with four alternates. The 12 jurors will be selected by random drawing.
The process has taken more than four days, but lawyers for both sides say they aren't surprised, given the extensive publicity the case has generated.
"We figured it would probably take three or four days," said Prosecutor Thomas Fallon. "There has been a great deal of media coverage, even though it has subsided quite a bit in the last several months. It's still a rather interesting and most unusual case for this neck of the woods."
The final jury is half men and half women. Of the 16 members, four are retired and two are housewives. The other jurors mostly work in the trades including a carpenter, a mechanic, a machinist and several factory workers. All 16 jurors will hear the entire case but after all of the testimony is finished, 12 will be randomly chosen for deliberations. The extra jurors are alternates in case some jurors are unable to remain on the jury for medical or family reasons.
Dean Strang, one of Avery's attorneys, told reporters that be believes the lengthy jury selection process is necessary.
"For Mr. Avery, it's potentially the rest of his life, and for the Halbach family, it's probably the best chance they'll have to see the system work and come out of it feeling like justice has been done," he said.
Lawyers reached 30 jurors late Thursday afternoon. Friday morning they eliminated 14 people to reach the final jury of 16.
Also Friday, Judge Patrick Willis ruled to allow prosecutors to show an animation of the alleged crime scene if they agreed to modify it and remove certain highlighted areas. That animation of Avery's trailer at his family's junkyard is expected to be shown to the jury during opening statements on Monday.
