Picking Jury a Challenge in Sniper Trial

A year after a series of deadly sniper shootings terrified Washington-area residents, defense lawyers say they face trying circumstances in the death-penalty trial of 42-year-old suspect John Allen Muhammad.

The case, which opens Tuesday and is expected to last up to six weeks, was moved some 200 miles out of metropolitan Washington to this southeastern Virginia city after defense lawyers argued that every northern Virginia resident could be considered a victim because the shootings made them afraid.

Even so, some legal experts have said it will be difficult to select impartial jurors from a community where people may still have felt vulnerable as the attacks mounted. Intense media coverage of the case will also make it difficult to find unbiased jurors.

About 120 potential jurors will be brought to the courtroom in groups of 40 to fill out a lengthy questionnaire.


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