Jury Selection Resumes in Slatten's Third Trial
/A week ago today, the prospective jurors in Nick Slatten’s third trial reported to federal district court in D.C. to fill out questionnaires. The questionnaires are designed to quickly identify jurors with conflicts of interests and biases that preclude their service on Nick’s jury, and to identify subjects that require further inquiry before a determination can be made about a prospective juror’s impartiality and fitness to serve. The prospective jurors returned to court today, and those who were not automatically dismissed as a result of their answers to the questionnaires will be questioned further (in a process known as voir dire). The questioning is expected to take most of this week. Opening statements are scheduled for Monday, November 5, 2018.
Nick’s entire future rests on a jury comprised of impartial jurors who will follow their oath and limit their inquiry to the ONLY question before them, namely whether Nick murdered the Kia’s driver. The physical evidence and eyewitnesses establish that Paul Slough killed the Kia’s driver in self-defense when he failed to stop his vehicle’s approach on the convoy despite repeated warnings. Paul has admitted this numerous times, including in a sworn statement he signed immediately after the incident, and the government itself previously told the Kia driver’s father that Paul killed his son. Our Vindictive Prosecution page, which is linked HERE, details why the government is nevertheless unjustly pursuing Nick for a crime he simply did not commit. Nick’s motion for judgment of acquittal, which is linked HERE, details the overwhelming evidence of Nick’s innocence.
Thank you for remembering Nick and his family as they prepare for a third trial on a charge that the government both legally and ethically should be precluded from pursuing. However, the government has made clear through the numerous rights violations it has committed throughout the course of this prosecution that it will never do the right thing where Nick is concerned. As a result, Nick’s freedom depends on his jurors’ willingness to follow the law and return the only just verdict—NOT GUILTY.