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First Day of Jury Selection in Trial of Teen Accused of Stabbing Marcelo Lucero

Posted March 2, 2010 by Ted Hesson
Categories: Hate Watch

In the first day of jury selection in the trial of Jeffrey Conroy—the teen accused of stabbing and killing Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero—Judge Robert W. Doyle grilled potential jurors, asking about their relationships to police officers, criminal records, and whether certain jurors were Latino. To see my post from this morning, click here.

In the course of the day, the judge excused dozens of potential jurors who said that they couldn’t serve, with jurors citing everything from economic hardship to admitted bias.

When one potential juror with the last name Rodriguez was called to the jury box, the judge asked, “Is Rodriguez a Spanish name, sir? What’s your origin? From what country?”

When the potential juror answered that he was Puerto Rican by descent, Judge Doyle asked, “[The defendant] is charged with hate crimes. That fact that your family is from Puerto Rico, would that create a problem for you sitting on this type of case?”

The juror answered that it wouldn’t, and Doyle continued, explaining that the prosecution would need to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Doyle also asked if the juror’s wife was “Spanish,” to which the juror answered that she was, but that his wife’s ethnicity would not affect his ability to evaluate the case fairly.

After that exchange, another juror volunteered that she was Latina, and that she wouldn’t be able to serve on the case because she felt biased based on the ethnicity of the victim.

During a break, Megan O’Donnell, the assistant district attorney assigned to the trial, told me that Judge Doyle’s line of questioning about ethnicity was procedurally correct for a hate crime case.

Judge Doyle later asked jurors about their relationships with police officers, since several officers will testify in the trial. He also questioned jurors about their past experiences with criminality, and whether they had ever been the victim of the crime.

Towards the end of today’s courtroom session, Judge Doyle asked if any jurors were members of groups that have an opinion in respect to immigration and enforcement of immigration law, no matter what the viewpoint: “Any organization that promotes changes in immigration law…whether Hispanics, Latinos, whether they should gain citizenship.”

With the mention of immigration, one juror said that he could not remain impartial in a case involving “illegal immigration.” The man identified himself as an independent carpenter based in Cutchogue, saying, “[Undocumented immigrants] take food off my plate every night…I have to admit that I am a little bit prejudiced about it.”

That juror was excused.

Also in attendance during the morning session were Joselo Lucero, the brother of the victim, and Luis Valenzuela, the executive director of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance.

Jury selection resumes again tomorrow morning at 10am.

Tags : hate crimes, jeffrey conroy, marcelo lucero

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