Jury selection for Mohamed Noor trial will extend into second week

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Jury selection in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Mohamed Noor will extend into a second week after the judge dismissed two potential jurors who were worried about missing work and school over the course of a trial, which is expected to last about a month. 

Noor is on trial for the 2017 shooting death of Justine Damond, an Australian woman who had called police to report a possible sexual assault in the alley behind her south Minneapolis home. 
Jury selection has taken up the entire first week of the trial. 

Frustrations mounted during group questioning Friday morning when two of the prospective jurors said they felt the length of the trial would be too much. One of the two women was a University of Minnesota student worried about destroying her semester if she served on the jury in such a lengthy trial. 

Attorneys were upset the women did not raise their concerns earlier. All potential jurors filled out 66-item questionnaire earlier in the week in which one of the questions read, “Do you have any major conflict such as a non-refundable ticket that would interfere with your ability to serve between now and May 1, 2019?” 

After dismissing the two women, the judge called in two additional jurors to fill their slots. The jury pool now consists of 17 men and seven women, with approximately six minority members, including an Ethiopian immigrant who moved to the United States when his family.

Attorneys are hoping to get down to 16 people—12 jurors and 4 alternates—by Monday afternoon.