Judge to seat Griffith jury today
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
February 6, 2015
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/judge-to-seat-griffith-jury-today/article_f7cd47ec-5ad6-11e7-a107-10604b9f0f42.html
In its fifth day, jury selection for the trial of a Reidland man accused of killing his wife is expected to end this afternoon.
Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz and Mark Bryant, defense attorney of Keith Griffith, will make their final cuts starting at 12:30 p.m.
"Right now we have 37 jurors who are qualified to sit on the case," Bryant said.
Today's process will cut that number to 16. Twelve will render the verdict at the trial's conclusion, with the others serving as alternates.
Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said a qualified juror means someone "who has not prejudged the case and somebody who can consider the full realm of punishments."
Immediately after selection, the jury will be seated and both sides will present opening statements, starting with the prosecution.
"The commonwealth will lay out what we intend to present as evidence and then ... the defense is allowed to present," Boaz said.
Bryant said his opening statement will show what he intends to tell the jury in the coming weeks. "We have witnesses and expert witnesses that will poke holes in the commonwealth's case," he said. "It is the prosecution's burden to prove their case against my client, and I intend to show the jury that the evidence they're using is not sufficient to do it."
Officials expect the trial to last until Feb. 20 in Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach's court.
Griffith, 56, is accused of shooting his wife three times before setting their house on fire with her and their two dogs inside.
Griffith said he was at a hotel near Louisville the night his wife died. However, police say they have video of Griffith leaving the hotel around 11 p.m. and returning around 5:30 the next morning.
Police also say they have video from a home surveillance system that shows a vehicle matching Griffith's SUV entering his neighborhood just before the fire started.
Griffith was arrested a week later and charged with murder, first-degree arson, tampering with evidence and two counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
Some 1,900 jury summons were sent out to county residents, and about 500 people reported to the courthouse Monday morning.
In a case like the Griffith trial, which has been heavily publicized, it is harder to find impartial jurors, Circuit Clerk Kim Channell said.
"That's why the court called in so many jurors," Boaz said. "It was to make sure we were able to get an adequate number who hadn't already formed an opinion about the case."
Channell, who was appointed circuit clerk in December, said this was her first experience corralling so many potential jurors, and she couldn't be happier with how the week has gone.
"The attorneys have said that with the number of jurors we had called in, we've handled it perfectly," she said. "Everything has gone smoothly ... and I think we did it the best that we could."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.
Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz and Mark Bryant, defense attorney of Keith Griffith, will make their final cuts starting at 12:30 p.m.
"Right now we have 37 jurors who are qualified to sit on the case," Bryant said.
Today's process will cut that number to 16. Twelve will render the verdict at the trial's conclusion, with the others serving as alternates.
Commonwealth Attorney Dan Boaz said a qualified juror means someone "who has not prejudged the case and somebody who can consider the full realm of punishments."
Immediately after selection, the jury will be seated and both sides will present opening statements, starting with the prosecution.
"The commonwealth will lay out what we intend to present as evidence and then ... the defense is allowed to present," Boaz said.
Bryant said his opening statement will show what he intends to tell the jury in the coming weeks. "We have witnesses and expert witnesses that will poke holes in the commonwealth's case," he said. "It is the prosecution's burden to prove their case against my client, and I intend to show the jury that the evidence they're using is not sufficient to do it."
Officials expect the trial to last until Feb. 20 in Circuit Judge Tim Kaltenbach's court.
Griffith, 56, is accused of shooting his wife three times before setting their house on fire with her and their two dogs inside.
Griffith said he was at a hotel near Louisville the night his wife died. However, police say they have video of Griffith leaving the hotel around 11 p.m. and returning around 5:30 the next morning.
Police also say they have video from a home surveillance system that shows a vehicle matching Griffith's SUV entering his neighborhood just before the fire started.
Griffith was arrested a week later and charged with murder, first-degree arson, tampering with evidence and two counts of first-degree animal cruelty.
Some 1,900 jury summons were sent out to county residents, and about 500 people reported to the courthouse Monday morning.
In a case like the Griffith trial, which has been heavily publicized, it is harder to find impartial jurors, Circuit Clerk Kim Channell said.
"That's why the court called in so many jurors," Boaz said. "It was to make sure we were able to get an adequate number who hadn't already formed an opinion about the case."
Channell, who was appointed circuit clerk in December, said this was her first experience corralling so many potential jurors, and she couldn't be happier with how the week has gone.
"The attorneys have said that with the number of jurors we had called in, we've handled it perfectly," she said. "Everything has gone smoothly ... and I think we did it the best that we could."
Contact Kat Russell, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8653.