BRENTWOOD — Hundreds of prospective jurors underwent the first round of questioning yesterday to decide if they would serve on New Hampshire's first capital murder trial in decades.
Approximately 600 people went to Rockingham County Superior Court yesterday, filling the courthouse parking lot and taking up a large portion of the second-floor lobby, conference rooms and a courtroom.
The trial for John "Jay" Brooks, 55, formerly of Derry, will not begin until after Labor Day and jury selection officially begins next month.
The jury screening that began yesterday is far more detailed than what's typically seen in criminal cases. New Hampshire jurors typically fill out a five-page questionnaire, answering questions about employment, criminal history and whether they have been the victim of a crime.
With court security officials looking on yesterday, jurors responded to 143 questions that dealt with their personal backgrounds, hobbies, feelings on capital punishment, and knowledge of the Brooks case.
"It's a little bit different than a regular jury selection process. It will be slightly more comprehensive," Assistant Attorney General Karen Huntress said. "It's more elaborate to ensure the constitutional rights of the defendant are met and to also ensure people of the state of New Hampshire have a fair trial as well."
If jurors convict Brooks of capital murder for the killing of Jack Reid, 57, of Derry, they would then sit on a second trial to decide whether he should be put to death.
Those chosen during yesterday's screening will have to appear for jury selection, which begins the week of Aug. 11. During jury selection, prosecutors and defense lawyers will ask potential jurors a variety of questions to determine whether they will be seated for the trial.
"It will be an extensive, time-consuming process," said Charles Temple, director of the criminal practice clinic at Franklin Pierce Law Center. "It's unique to capital murder cases."
It's a process that New Hampshire has rarely seen. The state capital murder law was amended to include the death penalty a year after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated capital punishment in 1976. Only one capital murder case went to trial in New Hampshire after that. It ended in an acquittal.
Rockingham County initially informed 800 people they could end up serving on the Brooks jury. Two hundred people were eliminated from that pool due to several factors, including being over age 70, according to court staff.
Defense lawyers did not return phone calls seeking comment on the jury selection. The questions were agreed upon by state prosecutors and Brooks' defense team, according to court documents. They include questions about personal background, family life, favorite board games and television shows, as well as more direct questions about the Brooks case.
One question asked prospective jurors if they believe "rich people expect and receive special treatment in this country."
Personal wealth is expected to be a factor in the trial. Prosecutors plan to argue that Brooks, one of New Hampshire's most successful entrepreneurs, used his money to buy influence and control three men he solicited for Reid's murder while living in Las Vegas. Five men, including Brooks' 31-year-old son, Jesse, face charges in the 2005 killing.
Reid's body was found in Saugus, Mass., on July 5, 2005, nearly a week after he was bludgeoned to death at a horse farm in Deerfield.
Judge Robert Lynn barred some questions. Both sides wanted to ask jurors about religious activities, political party affiliation, use of bumper stickers, and whether they had written letters to an editor of a newspaper to voice an opinion.
Lynn wrote that he found those questions "both overly intrusive and inappropriate insofar as they would tend to place the court's imprimatur on the notion that religious or political considerations have some proper bearing on a person's suitability to serve as a juror."
Temple, of Franklin Pierce, acknowledged one simple way prospective jurors could get out of serving on the trial is by saying they could not consider a death penalty verdict under any circumstance.
Jurors in capital cases must be able to impress upon lawyers they can consider the death penalty despite their personal feelings about the issue.
"You have to be willing to consider the case in an impartial way and have an open mind in potentially giving the ultimate punishment," Temple said.
He said lawyers from both sides hope to learn as much as possible about potential jurors. Sometimes, jury experts are used in such cases. He said trying to predict how a juror might react is nearly impossible.
"It's always difficult, especially from a lawyer's perspective, because you're trying to seat a juror you think is going to be fair and impartial and give your client justice in the end run," he said.
