GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A now-seated jury of Christopher Schurr's peers will soon consider evidence in the former Grand Rapids police officer's second-degree murder trial.
Schurr, who is white, is charged in the death of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old black man whom he shot in the back of the head during a traffic stop in April 2022. The two had been struggling over Schurr's taser — which was unsuccessfully discharged twice by Schurr — prior to the fatal shot.
While attorneys for the former officer claim he acted in self-defense, fearing for his life, Lyoya's family — and Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker — say Schurr's actions were not justified.
Shooting death of Patrick Lyoya
SCHURR TRIAL: Jury seated after two days of questioning from prosecution, defense
On Wednesday, Becker and defense attorney Matthew Borgula agreed on the makeup of the jury box, comprised of twelve jurors and two alternates.
Of these jurors, ten are women and four are men; ten are white, three are Hispanic and one is biracial with a black parent; five work in the medical field and two have a close personal connection with a police officer.
In addition, the majority say they know of but are not knowledgeable about the specifics of the case, including the cell phone, dashcam and body-worn camera video from the shooting.
On Friday, FOX 17 spoke to an attorney about whether the demographic makeup of the jury will have an impact on its deliberation and, ultimately, verdict.
"People are multifaceted," said Randall Levine of Levine & Levine Attorneys at Law. "At the end of the day, whether you’re black, white, old, young, employed or unemployed, the gist of what we’re tying to do here is get twelve people in the box who can be impartial and give Mr. Schurr — and the government — a fair trial."
Generally speaking, Levine says the "ideal" juror for the prosecution is a mother who is a minority — someone who is likely to "sympathize" with Lyoya.
Conversely, the defense's ideal juror is likely a man who is a gun owner and possesses a strong sense of duty — someone who can "relate to a police officer and what he might have felt at the time in the stress and tension of the encounter," Levine said.
Levine says a number of jurors' expertise in the medical field will likely also play a part in their understanding of the deadly shooting, given Lyoya's blood-alcohol content at the time was more than three times the legal limit in Michigan — though this was not known to Schurr.
"People in the medical field will understand the implications of that," Levine said. "How one’s behavior and cognition may be impacted by that level of intoxication."
In murder trials in Michigan, both the prosecution and defense retain the right to dismiss twelve potential jurors from the jury box for the betterment of their case — a legal tool called a peremptory challenge.
On Wednesday, Becker and Borgula settled on the makeup of the jury with a number of challenges still at their disposal. Levine says they likely thought the risk of calling in a juror who was less favorable to their argument was greater than the reward of the reverse.
"If you’re satisfied and you think you’ve got a good jury, there’s no sense in going forward and going from the frying pan into the fire," Levine said.
Regardless of the demographics of the jury — race, sex, career and more — Levine says "all that goes out the window when the evidence comes in."
"There’s an exchange of ideas from people who come from different backgrounds," he said. "And after all, that’s all we want. That’s the American system and that’s the beauty of democracy."
Opening statements in the trial of Christopher Schurr will begin at 8:30am on Monday, April 28.
For previous coverage of the trial of Christopher Schurr and Patrick Lyoya's death, click here.
