Coal Tattoo

Morning update on Blankenship jury selection

Media and family members who arrived at the courthouse this morning were herded into a first floor snack bar, with soda machines and ESPN playing on the television.

Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Tim Goode said that the 100 jurors called for questioning on Thursday would fill the courtroom. Only attorneys and jurors would be allowed in. Media and other spectators would be sent to a separate courtroom where they could watch via video feed.

Not until 10 a.m., an hour after court was scheduled to start, did security officers escort spectators to the separate courtroom. Then, when Judge Berger began asking questions of individual jurors, she called them to the bench and spectators could not hear what was being said via the video feed.

It was not clear from the video feed whether potential jurors would be excused based on their answers. Berger has not publicly announced the exact procedures for the jury selection. She has not, for example, publicly ruled on Blankenship’s request for 10 additional pre-emptory challenges.