SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- Jury selection is underway for the trials of two suspects Rhonda Wisto and Frank York in the Dystiny Myers murder case. Wednesday 250 people were called for voir dire, or questioning of the potential jurors by the judge and attorneys in the case.
Criminal defense attorney Jeffrey Stein said the goal in selecting a jury is to select the right one for your particular case. In this case for example, it has received a lot of publicity. In fact its been in the lime light for 3 years. Stein said this could be an issue for potential jury selection and certain questions regarding this issue will be asked.
"First, it will be a broad based question to determine whether the jurors have knowledge of the cases, the second then becomes to explore, and this is one where they might do it individually, to explore how much they know and what they know, then the third would be granted that they have this information, can they nonetheless be fair," said Stein.
Some cases like this one have actually been transferred out of San Luis Obispo County Superior Court to avoid prejudice of the case. The questioning of the potential jurors is scheduled for the next couple days. Once the courts get a core group of people, peremptory challenges where attorneys can exclude a juror without reason, are expected to begin March 5th.
