Jury seated in trial of teen
More than 200 people were summoned to the Butler County Courthouse this week to be interviewed as potential jurors in the trial of a teenager accused of killing his childhood friend.
The jurors, who were selected on Thursday and Friday, likely will be asked to decide if the Nov. 16, 2010, shooting was an accident or a homicide.
The defendant, now-19-year-old Eric Rutledge of Seven Fields, reportedly told investigators that he fired a 12-gauge shotgun at Courtney Rose Daily, 18, because he believed the gun’s safety was on and there was not a shell in the chamber, according to court records.
Rutledge allegedly told investigators he and Daily were discussing whether either had the nerve to shoot someone when he fired the weapon in the home on Woodhaven Drive that Rutledge shared with his mother.
The Rutledges had recently moved from Colorado. And Daily, a childhood friend from the same state, was visiting in hopes of finding a job.
Prosecutors apparently did not believe Rutledge’s story about the event and charged him with criminal homicide.
Since then, Rutledge has been in the Butler County Prison awaiting his trial, which is to begin Feb. 13.
Court officials summoned 100 potential jurors on Thursday and again on Friday.
Only about 30 people each day were interviewed. Each of those candidates was questioned individually in front of the attorneys, the defendant and Judge William Shaffer, who will preside over the trial.
At first, the potential jurors were asked standard jury questions such as if they have ever been a juror before. Then, both prosecution and defense attorneys took turns asking questions.
The prosecution, led by assistant district attorneys Christine Studeny and Richard Bosco, wanted to know if the potential jurors had ever fired a gun or seen someone with a gunshot wound.
Defense attorney Alexander Lindsay often asked the potential jurors about their magazine subscriptions and if they were familiar with the video game, “Call of Duty/Black Ops.”
Some of the potential jurors were dismissed “for cause,” meaning the jury duty would cause them a hardship, including a construction worker from Clearfield Township who said his whole work crew would be grounded for the days he was not available.
And both sides were permitted to dismiss potential jurors without naming their reasoning.
Afterward, Lindsay declined to elaborate on the relevance of the questions or what impact they had on the jurors the defense opted to excuse.
“I’m just glad we got a very intelligent and thoughtful jury,” Lindsay said.
Seven people were selected each day: the first 12 are jurors and two will be alternates.
Among those selected are a machinist who enjoys target shooting, bike riding and reading suspense novels. Another juror, a pregnant school teacher admitted there are details of the trial that could make her become emotional.
The trial is expected to last three to five days.
