Judge Asks Jury to Overlook Race In Oscar Grant Murder Trial [Video]

» by tffhthewriter June 3, 2010, 10:03am

With the trial of former transit police officer Johannes Mehserle set to begin on June 8, potential jurors will be faced with a questionnaire that poses more than 120 questions.

The questions, which were posted on the Los Angeles Superior Court website, asks whether jurors could put aside race to see the truth of the case, one question in particular asks jurors if they could overlook the fact that  Mehserle is white and Grant was Black.

A pool of potential jurors for Mehserle's trial is set to report to Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday to fill out the questionnaire to determine their eligibility.

The case centers around the 2009 murder of Oscar Grant III on New Year's Day 2009 at the Fruitvale station in Oakland.  According to video that hit the web like fire last year, Mehserle shot and killed Grant on the tracks after breaking up a fight.

Mehserle's lawyer, Michael Rains, has admitted Mehserle shot and killed Grant but claims the shooting was accidental because the former officer meant to use his Taser stun gun on Grant but fired his gun by mistake.

[People pay for their mistakes in jail all the time, so what's the difference here?]

Due to the publicity and elevated racial tension surrounding the case, Judge Ronald Perry  granted that Mehserle's could be moved from Alameda County to Los Angeles.

The presiding judge also ruled that he would allow defense video forensic analyst Michael Schott to testify in detail about a time-synchronized composite he compiled of four videos of the shooting that claimed the life of Grant, a 22-year-old Hayward man, shortly after 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2009.

Mehserle and other officers had responded to the station on reports that there was a fight on a train.

Perry's ruling on Tuesday followed the May 7th ruling which allowed the defense to present evidence from a  2006 incident in which Grant, who had three felony convictions, allegedly resisted being arrested and was shot with a Taser stun gun when officers tried to handcuff him during a traffic stop.

In addition to allowing evidence from both sides, Judge Perry denied Rains' bid to call Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris as a defense witness, due to a conflict of interest.

According to court records, Burris filed a $50 million wrongful death and civil rights lawsuit on March 2, 2009, on behalf of Grant's family against BART, Mehserle and other transit agency police officers.

On March 18, a federal judge approved a $1.5 million settlement between BART and Grant's 5-year-old daughter, Tatiana Grant. However, no settlement has been reached with Grant's mother, Wanda Johnson.

Although he is not listed as a witness, Perry ruled that Burris could attend the trial but placed a gag order on Burris and all participating lawyers in the case, prohibiting them from discussing the trial to any media outlet.

Questioning of potential jurors will begin next Tuesday and opening statements could be presented late next week if a jury is selected in the allotted time frame.

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  • http://unlimitedwhispers.com Deirdre B Pride

    aren't tasers and guns made differently? Wouldn't he know how his taser felt in his hand as opposed to a gun?

  • nanci

    how you can overlook race, the guy was not fighting back. The police had a right to use care when handling his gun, now they going to say it was an accident and another criminal let off? no, I believe it was all about race, and besides the transit police had a right to call the real police if they see a fight, why the transit police have guns. This would be another white person getting away with murder. The transit police deserves to be locked up for at least 15 years.

  • MsOfficer

    No. No. No. This is a case where you CANNOT overlook race.

    msofficer.com

  • OMG U Cant Be Serious

    Well U know how the saying goes "Kill a brotha in Cali get off scott free" At least thats how I feel after Biggie's death, Tupac's death,and most recently Dolla's death. All In Cali,but no one is doing time. smh.

  • Believe That If You Want

    "It was chaos and commotion and tasers are black just like a gun so during all the ruckus and fracas the cop pulled the wrong weapon"

    ^ tihsllub (read that in a mirror)

    There was no ruckus - the officers on scene had control of the situation and the suspects. Oscar was *****e on the ground with his hands behind his back. Tasers have a specific firing mechanism as well as markings that distinguish them from handguns. Not to mention that the dude aimed at Oscar before firing (versus having to react quickly to an immediate threat and immediately drawing and firing his weapon at which point the whole 'oops, sorry wrong weapon' excuse would be more digestible).

  • my2cents

    Black people.. the plantation still exists.. Did you see the white officers turning away.. as if to say to the other officer, do what you want to him (Oscar)! One question; Where is the black celeb community? Why aren't they trying to champion a resolve? Oh, I forgot, they're on the plantation too.. Hollyweird! And little do they know.. they just house niccas. My codolences to this young mans family!

  • zoriansmom

    @Believe that. I didn't say I agree with that explanation I'm not in the cops head, that is the excuse the attorneys for the bart cop has given. If he's racist has to be proven in court.

  • Angeleye

    I agree w/ practically everything already posted-if he gets away with this it's going to be major problems. There was no need for a taser to even be used so his reasoning aka excuse is unacceptable. So tired of injustice. God bless the victim's family and may justice prevail.

  • mememe

    i think he needs to go to jail. that was horrendous.

  • Marlmad

    Jury selection is suppose to use a random selection of their peers from the community to help in determining the fate of the case.

    Many black men have been prosecuted in states for crimes that werent even this serious. I think this selection process is unconstitutional and should be challenged!

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