“It went from zero to 60 very fast.”
That’s how one dismissed juror who made it to the jury box, but was ultimately not empaneled, described the experience earlier this week.
The juror, who did not want to be identified due to safety concerns, said the first thing he saw when he walked into the courtroom was former President Donald Trump, “scowling at the jury.”
The juror read through the questionnaire and was questioned by Defense Attorney Todd Blanche.
“Man, was he good,” the juror said describing Blanche’s questioning. But, he said the prosecution ran out of time and did not question him.
In the jury room, he and other potential jurors discussed how it seemed as if the district attorneys’ attorneys had mismanaged their time.
He was there Monday and Tuesday but was eventually struck although he was not told why.
He noted that the former president was more engaged on the first day than the second day when he appeared to be more “zoned out” – though he noted that Trump did seem to briefly look up when a couple of blond women were in the courtroom.
Additionally, the juror said that during lunch on Tuesday they began to get reports that some identity-revealing information had been published by media outlets, which made some in the pool feel “scared.”