On Wednesday morning, four men and a woman were chosen to serve as jurors during the trial in Minneapolis.
Chauvin pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and wrongful death charges. In addition, a third-degree murder charge that was dismissed in October is now in limbo after an appeals court ruled that the first instance judge should reconsider a motion to reinstate it.
Opening statements are expected to begin before March 29, followed by testimonials that can take up to four weeks.
Who was selected
Eric Nelson is questioning prospective defense jurors, while Steve Schleicher is questioning them for the prosecution. Judge Peter Cahill is presiding over the trial.
Three judges were selected on the first day of jury selection on Tuesday, and two judges were selected on Wednesday.
The first juror selected was a white man in his 20s or 30s who works as a chemist and said he has an analytical mind.
The second juror was a black woman who appeared to be biracial in her 20s or 30s, according to the remarks of an association reporter in court. She said she was “super excited” to receive the form from the jury questionnaire.
The third jury selected was a white man in his 30s who works as an auditor.
The fourth judge was a white man in his 30s or 40s who said he had a “very favorable” view of the Black Lives Matter. He also said he believed the police were more truthful than other witnesses. The jury is planning to get married on May 1 and told the court that if he were selected for trial, it could delay the marriage.
“Go ahead and throw me under the bus with your fiancée,” joked the judge. The judge replied, “Okay, I’ll do that.“
The fifth juror selected was a black man in his 30s or 40s who moved to the United States 14 years ago and works in information technology. He said he had a “somewhat negative” opinion of Chauvin, that he strongly disagreed with disallowing the police and that the police made him feel safe.
Who was dismissed
If the defense or prosecution believes that a person cannot be impartial in the case, they can ask the court to fire the person for cause. Each side has unlimited challenges because of it.
Defense prosecutors and lawyers can also move to dismiss potential jurors without cause, using what is called a peremptory challenge. Chauvin’s team is allowed 15 of those challenges and the prosecution has nine. However, these peremptory challenges can be challenged, if they are based on race, ethnicity or sex – known as the Batson challenge.
Six people were excused from serving on the jury on Tuesday, and two were dismissed on Wednesday.
The defense used peremptory blows on a Hispanic woman who said her English was not good and on a Hispanic man who had martial arts training. The state raised a Batson challenge and argued that the strikes were race-based, but the defense disagreed, and the judge supported the defense’s race-neutral reasoning.
The defense also used a coup against a man who appears to be Asian in his 30s or 40s.
The prosecution used a peremptory attack against a white man in his 50s or 60s who said people should not question the officers’ decisions, as well as a white woman in her 60s who said she trusted the police a lot.
Three prospective jurors were dismissed by the judge: a woman for saying she could not be impartial, a man who was concerned that the trial would affect his job as an accountant and a 19-year-old man because he said he would treat the official police witness differently of others.
CNN’s Brad Parks contributed to this report.