MAY 17, 2021
Fairness issues loom over trial in Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts' slaying | WCTI (wcti12.com)
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Legal experts say ensuring a fair trial for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the farmhand charged with first-degree murder in the 2018 slaying of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, will be difficult given the extraordinary circumstances of the case.
Rivera's arrest inflamed anger over illegal immigration ahead of the midterm elections, with Trump weighing in to declare Rivera guilty almost immediately and Iowa's governor calling him a predator. ...
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Lawyers outside the case say they are surprised that Judge Joel Yates only expects jury selection to take two days, and that both sides said they would not use an extended written questionnaire to learn more about jurors' views on critical issues.
Prospective jurors who admit to bias against noncitizens or non-English speakers could be disqualified, legal experts say. Trump supporters who remember his descriptions of Rivera as an "illegal alien" who came from Mexico to kill "an incredible, beautiful young woman" also may be blocked from hearing the case, they said.
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"That seems like a really short time for jury selection, given the issues this case raises," said Iowa defense lawyer Dan Vondra, who routinely represents Spanish-speaking clients. "Jury selection is the best way that I have seen to get people to open up and talk about their background. If you limit that dialogue, that's where you run into the risk of having a mistake made."
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