Day 1: The Fog of Fairness

The fog was so thick when I woke up Monday morning, I couldn’t see the houses next door to the place I’m staying here in Goldsboro. As it turns out, that would prove to be a metaphor for the first day of the Cesar Laurean trial.

It was a day spent in the unknown. We weren’t sure how those 1,300 recently documents would affect the actual start of the trial, or whether cameras were allowed in the courthouse, or who would even show up on the very first day.

It was quieter that I expected, pulling up to the Wayne County Courthouse just before Noon.

Andrew Doud and Kevin O’Brien, one of our photojournalists, were already there, had been since around 5:30 A.M. As I got there a gaggle of reporters were heading to the courthouse steps to talk with attorneys from both sides.

Both the prosecution and the defense seem decidedly confident, if not anxious for everything to get underway.

By lunch, court was done for the day and we knew that those uncovered documents were mainly duplicates, so they wouldn’t affect the start of the trial.

Laurean’s family was there, sharing a courtroom for the first time with the Lauterbach family. Spectators unrelated to the case didn’t show up for yesterdays proceedings, but you can bet that when we get further into this trial, that will no longer be the case.

Most of yesterday was spent trying to decide whether the video of Laurean entering the courtroom yesterday morning could even be used.

Judge Smith, who is presiding over the trial, is a visiting Judge. He can control what goes on inside his courtroom, but not what happens in the rest of the courthouse. We knew that cameras were not allowed in the courtroom during jury selection, but we were able to get video of the main players walking into the courtroom.

The only problem was that Judge Jones, the Chief Resident Judge in Wayne County, had issued an order earlier this year that said recording was not allowed in the courthouse itself. Jones was the one that would need to decide whether the video we had already recorded could air.

Airing it, without his permission, could have landed us in jail, charged with contempt of court.

The noon show came and went, and we decided to hold that video, until we had explicit permission to use it. Getting in touch with Judge Jones proved more difficult that we had hoped, and it wasn’t until around 3:00 that we finally got the go ahead, to show the video you saw on our 6:00 newscast. 

The issue lies in fairness, video of Laurean in shackles and a jumpsuit, could make him look guilty to potential jurors. So could video of a photographer chasing him down, or shoving a microphone in his face screaming questions at him. It’s all a matter of perception, but as far as the legal system is concerned, perception can be managed easiest by not making it an issue at all.

In the end, the judge thought the video was mundane enough, just Laurean walking into the courtroom, deputies at his side, wearing that shirt and tie you’ve probably seen by now, that it could be aired.

But it speaks to an issue journalists face often, balancing fairness and public interest. Sometimes that balance can be delicate, and that’s putting it lightly.

As for today, jury selection begins this morning. Jurors will be screened individually, so when they discuss their knowledge of the case, it doesn’t provide information to other jurors who may not have known much about it at all.

It will be a few days before the jury is seated and the meat of the trial gets underway. I am interested to see just what these potential jurors know and how much either side sees as too much knowledge.

For now, we’ll wait and see as the dozens of potential jury members, whittle down into the 12 that will decide Laurean’s fate.