CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on the murder trial of a white former South Carolina policeman charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist (all times local):
6:00 p.m.
A jury will be seated Wednesday morning in the trial of a white former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist.
Michael Slager is charged in the April 2015 shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott as he ran from a traffic stop in North Charleston. The shooting was captured on a cellphone video that shocked the nation.
After two days of jury qualification attorneys had been expected to use their strikes to select a jury of 12 members and six alternates late Tuesday. But the defense said it wanted to review those in the pool of 75 overnight.
Circuit Judge Clifton Newman said the jury will be seated Wednesday morning and opening arguments could come later in the day.
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4:10 p.m.
A jury is about to be seated in the trial of a white former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist.
Michael Slager is charged in the April 2015 shooting death of Walter Scott as he ran from a traffic stop in an incident captured on dramatic cellphone video.
Judge Clifton Newman individually questioned nine potential jurors late Tuesday after a pool of about 130 was qualified. The questions ranged from postings that appeared on one man’s Facebook page to whether a woman’s religious beliefs could affect her ability to render an impartial verdict.
Seventy-five potential jurors will be randomly picked from that pool and they will be presented to attorneys who will be able to strike some of those they don’t want. The jury is expected to be empaneled by late Tuesday with opening arguments expected Wednesday afternoon.
Slager faces 30 years to life if convicted of murder in Scott’s death.
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1:10 p.m.
Attorneys for a white former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist want a dramatic cellphone video of the shooting kept out of the trial.
A bystander made a video of 50-year-old Walter Scott being shot in the back in April 2015.
Andy Savage represents former officer Michael Slager. In a motion filed in Charleston on Tuesday, Savage says the video is “prejudicial, inflammatory and factually deficient.” He said it was taken from the point of the bystander 137 feet away and not from the officer’s perspective.
The motion also says the video does not show the entire fight that took place between Slager and Scott prior to the shooting. Scott was shot while fleeing following a traffic stop in North Charleston.
The motion says that if the video is allowed into evidence, it should not be shown in slow motion because that implies that Slager had malicious intent toward Scott. Jury selection continued in Slager’s trial on Tuesday.
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4:15 a.m.
Jury selection is entering a second day in the trial of a white former South Carolina police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist.
Michael Slager is charged in the April 2015 death of Walter Scott as he ran from a traffic stop. The case attracted worldwide attention after being captured on dramatic cellphone video by a bystander.
During the first day of the trial, the pool of about 190 potential jurors was whittled down to about 130.
Community leaders are calling for calm and unity as Charleston deals with two high-profile cases with racial overtones.
Jury selection resumes next week in the federal death penalty trial of Dylann Roof, who is white, in the shooting deaths of nine black church members.
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