CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - The Latest on the trial of a white former South Carolina police officer charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist (all times local):
5:15 p.m.
Opening arguments are set for Thursday morning in the trial of a white former South Carolina policeman charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black motorist.
A nearly all-white jury was seated in the case Wednesday and a state judge dealt with a series of outstanding motions. He denied a request to move the trial of Michael Slager from Charleston. Circuit Judge Clifton Newman also refused a request to dismiss the indictment against Slager, who is charged in the shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott as he ran from a traffic stop.
A request by the defense to block a dramatic cellphone video of the slaying was not immediately considered.
A defense attorney said the issue would be raised at the time the prosecution presents the evidence.
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3:30 p.m.
A South Carolina judge has denied a defense motion to dismiss the indictment against a white former police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man.
Attorneys for Michael Slager wanted Circuit Judge Clifton Newman to dismiss the charge, saying it violates constitutional protections against double jeopardy. Slager also faces trial next year in federal court on several charges, including violating the civil rights of Walter Scott.
Slager fatally shot the 50-year-old Scott as he fled a traffic stop in North Charleston.
Newman denied the motion, saying Slager has been afforded all the due process afforded by the laws of South Carolina.
And he ruled that to dismiss the indictment based on grounds of double jeopardy, he would have to “overrule well-established doctrine.”
Late Wednesday the judge was taking up a request to move the trial.
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12:50 p.m.
A jury of 11 whites and one black has been seated in the case of a white former South Carolina officer charged with murder in the shooting death of an unarmed black man.
Michael Slager is charged in the April 2015 death of Walter Scott as Scott fled a traffic stop. Opening statements are expected Thursday.
The trial comes against a national backdrop of officer-involved shootings and slayings of police officers.
The jury was seated as authorities arrested a man suspected in the killings of two Des Moines area police officers who were shot while sitting in their patrol cars. Testimony also began Wednesday in the Ohio murder trial of a white officer who fatally shot a black man.
In the Slager trial, the defense struck nine potential jurors, including seven minorities.
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10:15 a.m.
The pool from which a jury will be selected to hear the case of a white former South Carolina policeman charged in the shooting death of a black motorist is predominantly white.
Figures released by the clerk of court in Charleston County show that of the pool of 75 qualified jurors, 55 are white, 16 are black and the rest are of other races. The pool resulted from two days of juror qualification, most of which was done behind closed doors.
Attorneys are using their strikes on Wednesday morning to select a jury of 12 people and six alternate jurors to hear the case of Michael Slager.
The 34-year-old Slager is charged with murder in the shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott as Scott ran from a traffic stop in North Charleston in April of 2015.
The shooting of Scott, who was unarmed, was seen around the world after a bystander recorded it on his cellphone.
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4:15 a.m.
A jury is being seated in the trial of a former South Carolina policeman charged with murder in the shooting death last year of an unarmed black motorist.
Attorneys will use their strikes Wednesday and seat the jury, which will decide the case of 34-year-old Michael Slager. Opening arguments could come later in the day.
Slager, a former North Charleston officer, faces 30 years to life if convicted in the April 2015 shooting death of 50-year-old Walter Scott. Scott was killed as he fled a traffic stop after being pulled over for a broken taillight.
The shooting was captured by a bystander on dramatic cellphone video.
The defense has asked the judge to keep the video out of the trial. It shows Scott being shot eight times in the back.
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