Four days into the long process of jury selection for the murder trial of George Zimmerman, the man charged with killing Florida teen Trayvon Martin, the judge decided that all jurors and alternates will be sequestered during the trial.
USA Today reports that Judge Debra Nelson decided Thursday afternoon that, with such a high profile case, all the jurors will have to be closed off from the outside world during the trial, which could last anywhere between two to four weeks.
According to CBS News, while talking with another potential juror, defense attorney Don West explained how it would work. He said that jurors will be “kept together with court security and not allowed to go outside the group except in special circumstances.” West added that they could meet with family members, but regular communication would be cut off and entertainment would have to be approved by court security.
The prosecutors and Zimmerman’s attorneys have 20 of the 30 potential jurors they need to go to another round of more detailed questioning.
Zimmerman is charged in the shooting death of Martin, a 17-year-old, in February 2012. The former neighborhood watch leader had claimed self defense and was not initially charged until after the case drew national attention.
image: Wikimedia Commons
