Thirteen more potential jurors were interviewed yesterday during the jury selection for the James E. Trimble trial. Trimble is awaiting trial on three counts of aggravated murder.

The interviews proceeded quickly at first, as two jurors were excused soon after their interviews began. Potential juror No. 73, a graduate assistant at Kent State, was dismissed when he stated that his affiliation with the university would affect the way he viewed the trial. The next potential juror, No. 75, was excused after she informed Portage County Court of Common Pleas Judge John Enlow that she recently lost her husband and could not give her full attention to the trial.

Potential juror No. 74 was a no-show, along with at least one other potential juror.

Both the prosecution and the defense moved quickly through the first half of the interview process. Potential jurors were asked to recall any pre-trial publicity they had seen. All but one of the potential jurors stated they had read or heard details regarding the trial in one form or another. The defense made two challenges of potential jurors based on too much knowledge of the trial. Enlow overruled both.

Questioning slowed when the prosecution and the defense began to ask the potential jurors their opinions of the death penalty. Several jurors mentioned they had never thought about where they stand on the issue.

Prosecutors objected to potential juror No. 89 after she said she was unsure about whether or not she could deliver a death penalty verdict based on her beliefs. Enlow overruled the objection.

Enlow hopes to get through 15 more potential jurors today. Enlow said he hopes to have all the individual interviews done by the end of Monday.

Contact public affairs reporter Joe Murphy at [email protected].