![]() Judge Jason Cashon said pretrial publicity did not hamper their attempts to seat a jury, and he denied two defense motions for a continuance and a change of venue that were filed because of pretrial publicity. He asked the room how many of those present had seen "American Sniper," and few hands were raised.Īnother 17 potential jurors were dismissed Monday after 19 were dismissed over the weekend. Routh's defense attorney asked lots of individuals questions of the potential jurors and whether they could require the state to prove its case. Prosecutors said there can not be a shadow of doubt, calling it a "very narrow door." They explained that with an insanity defense, the burden on the the defense to prove their client is or was insane. Prosecutors told the nearly 130 people in the courtroom that no matter what they've heard, there is a lot they have not heard yet about the case. On Monday, Routh appeared in court in a gray sport coat and appeared engaged in the proceedings as jury selection continued. "It's hard not to have knowledge of this case," Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash said. Instead, potential jurors were asked if they could set aside what they had already heard. Simply reading Kyle's book or seeing the Academy Award-nominated movie starring Bradley Cooper - which ends with a depiction of Kyle meeting Routh, followed by footage from Kyle's funeral - weren't grounds for dismissal. Yet it took just one day to seat the panel, after a screening process last week narrowed the jury pool. In response to the attention paid to the Kyle case, officials called in more than four times as many potential jurors as they would for a regular trial. "Amercan Sniper," the Clint Eastwood-directed movie based on Kyle's memoir as a celebrated sniper who served four tours in Iraq has grossed nearly $300 million.
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