Judge Sequesters Boot Jurors County May Pay About $20,000 To House And Feed Murder Trial Jury
Jurors picked Friday for the murder trial of Kevin Boot were immediately sequestered at a downtown Spokane hotel, even though opening statements in the case won’t begin until Monday.
The jurors had three hours to notify bosses, pack and make arrangements with relatives before being hustled off to the hotel. They’ll live there throughout the trial, which could last up to four weeks.
Boot and his cousin are charged with kidnapping and killing Felicia Reese, 22, in December 1994.
Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen ordered the sequestration in response to a defense request the trial be moved to another county in light of “inflammatory” pre-trial publicity.
Eitzen denied the motion, but agreed to sequester the seven-woman, five-man jury immediately, “to protect them from outside influence during the trial.”
“I regret the expense to taxpayers,” Eitzen said. “But it is the only way we can ensure a fair trial.”
If the trial lasts a month, court administrators said it will cost nearly $20,000 to feed and house the 15 jurors, three of whom are alternates.
Jurors also are paid $10 a day for their service plus mileage expenses. More money will be spent on entertainment and transportation to and from the courthouse.
Jury selection took five days, with attorneys choosing from a pool of 75 people.
Defense attorney Richard Fasy told Eitzen he was worried about the lack of minorities in the jury pool.
“There are no persons of minority on the (panel), with the exception of one woman who is Hispanic or part Alaskan-Indian,” Fasy said. “It gives me great concern about getting a fair trial in this matter.” Boot comes from a mixed-race family, he said.
Prosecutor Jim Sweetser said the county’s system of summoning jurors does not intentionally exclude minorities. Names are randomly chosen from lists of registered voters and people who have driver’s licenses.
“It is not Mr. Boot’s right to have an entire jury that looks just like him,” Sweetser said.
Boot, 18, is accused of abducting Reese from the parking lot of the Sheraton-Spokane Hotel on Dec. 27, 1994. He and his cousin, Jerry Boot, 17, admit forcing Reese into the back seat of her car, robbing her of $43 and driving her to Minnehaha Park on the North Side.
Each accuses the other of shooting Reese in the head. Both are charged with aggravated first-degree murder.
Although the murder weapon belonged to Jerry Boot, prosecutors will try to prove it was Kevin Boot who fired the gun four times at Reese.
Jerry Boot, whose trial is scheduled to start next month, is appealing a law that requires he be automatically tried as an adult. The appeal is currently before the state Supreme Court.
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