The first group of prospective jurors underwent questioning Monday in the trial of James Degorski, who is charged in the 1993 murders of seven employees at a Brown’s Chicken restaurant.
One by one, the prospective jurors — whose names are being kept secret by Cook County Circuit Judge Vincent Gaughan — were brought into the jury room. The judge, Degorski and attorneys crowded around a table armed with lengthy questionnaires filled out by each would-be juror. Two reporters looked on.
“Jeez, you guys are intimidating,” a 19-year-old college student said on entering the room. Most interviews lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, with the judge and attorneys homing in on specific answers in the questionnaire about health problems, criminal pasts and prejudices for or against law enforcement.
The 25-page questionnaire asked prospective jurors for detailed biographical information and probed whether they “have ever had a job in a fast-food restaurant” and if they “have (or have you ever had) a bumper sticker or decal on your car? If so, what did it say or depict?”
But during the interviews, the bulk of the questions centered on their willingness or reluctance to impose the death penalty. Five were dismissed after they said they were opposed to capital punishment and would not consider imposing it. Two others were dismissed after saying they already believed that Degorski was guilty of the murders and would impose the death penalty. “An eye for an eye,” one man said.
Others were dismissed for health reasons, for difficulty speaking or understanding English, or because the trial would cause undue hardship. One woman who is self-employed and said she would lose all her clients if selected to serve on the jury ran out of the courtroom when the judge dismissed her late Monday afternoon.
“She can’t get out of here fast enough,” Gaughan said, laughing.
Though each was questioned privately, prospective jurors waiting in the courtroom deduced who among them caught the interest of the court most, simply based on how long they were questioned.
One man was thanked for his candor and ushered back to the courtroom almost as soon as he told the judge and attorneys that he would have a hard time focusing during the monthlong trial because of short-term memory loss. He also opposed the death penalty.
But the next juror in line was questioned for nearly 40 minutes. When he returned, the other man started laughing. “You were in there a long time,” he said. “They must have really liked you.”
He was right — the man was one of only three out of 21 prospective jurors still in the running after the first day. The others are the college student and a Paris-born stay-at-home dad. All three said that should Degorski be convicted, they would consider imposing the death penalty if they felt it was the appropriate sentence.
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mwalberg@tribune.com
