Juror selection is now at issue in Jackson’s bribery scandal case against Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens, former Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and former Jackson City Councilman Aaron Banks.
In a motion filed Feb. 27, the U.S. Attorney’s Office requested either an intradistrict transfer of the case or the use of a district-wide jury pool, rather than limiting jurors to a single division of the Southern District of Mississippi.
The restricted filing signals prosecutors may be concerned about local jury pool dynamics, pretrial publicity or potential biases tied to the Jackson metro area, where the alleged bribery scheme unfolded. If granted, the request would expand the geographic area from which potential jurors are summoned…