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Gerald Robinson: Lawyers whittle jury pool for priest
More articles on this topic: Satanic and/or ritual abuseFinancial hardship, health, and religious beliefs are cited
Twenty-one of the 67 prospective jurors interviewed in the murder trial of the Rev. Gerald Robinson have been excused from the case, mostly because of financial hardships they might face from being away from work for three to four weeks.
The two other main reasons for the dismissals had to do with people’s health and religious beliefs.
The individual interviews of prospective jurors is the first step in winnowing the field of 99. Those who make the first round will then go through a general selection process until 12 jurors and four alternates are chosen.
Father Robinson, 68, is being tried in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on charges that he murdered 71-year-old Sister Margaret Ann Pahl on Holy Saturday, 1980. If convicted, he faces possible life in prison.
The questions asked of prospective jurors center on three main concerns: impact of a lengthy trial on jobs and families; whether they already have opinions based on news reports, and whether their religious beliefs could prevent an impartial decision.
Jury selection has been slower than expected, and opening arguments in the high-profile case have been pushed back until Friday.
Judge Thomas Osowik and attorneys for the defense and prosecution conferred after the 67th interview yesterday, debating how many people are still needed to make a suitable sized jury pool. Many of the 46 who made the first cut are still “soft,” Assistant County Prosecutor Dean Mandros complained, because questions remain about whether they can serve.
A number of them said they needed to check with their employers to see if they would be paid for the length of the trial, while others said they had to make child-care arrangements.
To speed up the selection process, Judge Osowik and attorneys for both sides pored over questionnaires filled out by prospective jurors still awaiting individual interviews. They agreed to eliminate 10 people, some for health reasons and others for financial concerns, leaving 20 prospective jurors to be interviewed today.
During the questioning yesterday, psychologist Lucia Hinojosa sat behind the prosecution team and handed written notes to Mr. Mandros and the two other Lucas County assistant prosecutors in the case, Larry Kiroff and Chris Anderson.
Father Robinson sat quietly through most of the interviews, occasionally consulting with his attorneys Alan Konop, John Thebes, John Callahan, and Nicole Khoury.
Among the prospective jurors dismissed yesterday was a middle-aged man wearing a Mud Hens jacket who said, with a quavering voice, that he was brought up a Catholic and is now a Baptist but did not feel that he could set aside a reverence for priests that was ingrained in him during childhood.
Another middle-aged man was excused for having an opposite bias — he said he was raised Catholic, converted to the Lutheran faith, and now has animosity toward Catholicism and priests.
A Catholic man in his 20s, with bushy dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, was excused after repeatedly saying he could not sit in judgment of a priest. “I don’t think I could do it. I just feel wrong,” he said.
When pressed, he told Mr. Mandros: “I just feel that the decision I make will affect me forever. It will always be with me.”
Another session became contentious when a prospective juror, an ex-Catholic construction worker, challenged Mr. Anderson’s repeated efforts to clarify whether he would believe a priest more readily than he would believe a layman. The juror said priests “are different” because of their extensive religious training. “If he did it, and he comes to court and lies about it, he pretty much seals his fate,” the man said.
Mr. Kiroff asked a number of prospective jurors if they believe there would be “divine consequences in this life or the afterlife” if they were to find Father Robinson guilty.
Court rules prohibit jurors from being identified, photographed, videotaped, or recorded.
Of the 67 prospective jurors questioned over two days, 21 were practicing Catholics, two said they were not Catholic but their spouses and children were, and four were former Catholics. There were six Lutherans, five Methodists, four Baptists, and several from different Christian denominations, including Nazarene, Church of Christ, and nondenominational. Six said they had no specific religious affiliation, one said she was an atheist, and another one said she was agnostic. A number of people were excused before their religious beliefs were discussed.
Father Robinson, a Toledo native, was ordained in 1964 and was the chaplain at Mercy Hospital when the slaying occurred. He was arrested April 23, 2004, after a cold-case squad said they discovered new evidence using blood-pattern transfer analysis.
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