The Susan Smith Trial

By MOLLY McDONOUGH
Staff Writer

UNION, S.C. (7/16/95) -- No sooner did jury selection in the Susan Smith case end Saturday than her lawyer asked that the judge throw out the panel. The motion, though, was denied by Judge William Howard, who set the trial to begin on Monday.

Jury selection ended with 12 jurors and just two alternates, not the six Howard had originally said he wanted. The judge stopped at 14 Saturday evening after speaking with the lawyers in chambers.

Lawyers on both sides said they thought they could finish the trial in two weeks, a much shorter time than the 10 weeks scheduled by Howard.

After jury selection was complete, defense lawyer David Bruck argued that the panel, which ended up with nine men and three women, should be invalid because it isn't representative of the community.

Bruck presented final statistics to Howard indicating more women than men were adamantly opposed to the death penalty in this case. Bruck attributed the numbers to how the facts of the case didn't fit with the punishment being sought by the state.

Pope said after court he thought Bruck was laying the groundwork for an appeal.

Smith, 23, could face the death penalty if convicted of drowning her two young sons Oct. 25 in a Union County lake.

To explain how people might not be able to eliminate Smith from their minds when they thought about the death penalty, Bruck used the analogy of a young child facing execution.

He said no matter how someone's real thoughts about the death penalty are probed, the person still will be looking at the child sitting at the defense table.

Howard disagreed with Bruck and said he should have asked for a change of venue if that was a concern.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday. On Monday, lawyers will hammer out routine pretrial motions, including the admissibility of Smith's confession and some videos. The videos might include the re-enactment of the sinking of Smith's car, though Pope would not say whether he would introduce that video into evidence.

The jury consists of five white men, four black men, two white women and one black woman. The two alternates are a white man and a white woman.

Smith, whose pale cheeks began to show some color, seemed more active at the defense table Saturday. She was attentive during the questioning of potential jurors, consulting with her lawyers at times.

Her ex-husband, David Smith, did not attend the final day of jury selection. After court, Pope said he told Mr. Smith to take a break so he can be ready for trial.

Mr. Smith's father, Charles David Smith and his stepmother, Sue Smith, were in court. Small photographs of Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, were pinned to their clothes with gold guardian angels.

New jurors selected Saturday:

Juror No. 65 -- A black man in his 20s who worked at Wal-Mart when David Smith's father was a manager. The man said he got along with the senior Smith, but didn't know how he felt about the case.

Juror No. 15 -- A white man in his 30s who also worked with Mr. Smith's father at Wal-Mart. The man, who was questioned extensively for an hour, was critical about the car re-enactment and the length of time it took defense lawyers to consent to a mental evaluation of Smith. However, the man, whose girlfriend went to school with Susan Smith, seemed sympathetic to Smith's troubled past.

"You always think, what would that play on a person's mind," he said.

Bruck originally objected to the juror because the man said he had heard the prosecution offered to plea bargain, which was incorrect.

But Bruck, who had three remaining strikes, eventually seated the man, though would not explain his reasons other than to say that he knew who he would have to choose from next.

Alternates selected:

Juror No. 217 -- A white woman appearing to be in her 30s, who said she was horrified when Smith confessed to killing her sons.

Juror No. 47 -- A white male in his late 20s or early 30s who said he felt betrayed by Smith. "At the time, I thought she should get the death penalty," he said.

The man, who has two young sons, said he didn't think Smith should get the death penalty and instead should be sentenced to life in prison. He was qualified and then seated after he told the judge he could set those opinions aside.

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