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XEROX SHOOTINGS
Prosecution, defense
By Suzanne Tswei
express optimism about
screening Xerox jurors
Star-BulletinThe one thing the defense and the prosecution agree on is this: 12 jurors and four alternates can be "fair and impartial" when deciding the guilt or innocence of Byran Uyesugi, accused of killing seven colleagues in the state's worst multiple killing.
"You have to have faith in the system," said Jerel Fonseca, Uyesugi's lead counsel, as jury selection began yesterday for the murder trial of the copying machine repairman. "We believe we can find a fair and impartial jury."
City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, who is trying the case himself, agreed that an impartial jury panel can be found, saying "what we are looking for is no different than any other trial."
As jury selection began yesterday, both sides said they are looking for people who are able to keep an open mind and disregard news reports they have seen or heard about the killing of seven men at the Xerox office Nov. 2.
The attorneys spent about eight hours screening about 150 potential jurors.
More than 400 Oahu residents have been summoned to Circuit Court to be screened as potential jurors in the case. The selection is expected to take weeks.
Circuit Judge Marie Milks yesterday dismissed a number of jurors who admitted to being biased, having difficulty understanding English, having medical conditions and for other reasons. The number of jurors who were dismissed was not available.
To streamline the selection process, both sides drew up a 15-item questionnaire to help determine if potential jurors can be "fair and impartial."
The questionnaire asked whether the potential jurors have relationships with anyone connected to the case, read or heard news reports on the slayings and other details.
Pretrial publicity was a question that brought many potential jurors into the courtroom to be questioned individually by the judge and the attorneys. The potential jurors were asked if they can set aside any preconceived opinions that resulted from news accounts of the killings and consider only the evidence introduced in the courtroom.
The selected jurors must be able to serve through the entire trial, which is scheduled to begin May 15 and last until June 23.
Uyesugi is charged with first-degree murder (murdering more than one person), seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree attempted murder.
If convicted, Uyesugi faces a mandatory life term without parole.
Prosecutors charge that Uyesugi intended to kill his seven victims and shoot at an eighth man. His attorneys said Uyesugi should be acquitted by reason of insanity because he suffered from a mental illness that substantially impaired his ability to know right from wrong.
Xerox killings
