Jury selection begins in trial of former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels

About 200 people showed up to the Clay County courthouse at 8:30 a.m. to be part of that potential jury pool in the trial of former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels.

By 9 a.m., there were half as many people after many were excused for different reasons.

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Daniels allegedly asked deputies to arrest his former mistress Cierra Smith in 2019.

Police say he accused her of stalking him, which she denies. Smith was arrested but never booked. Instead, Daniels was arrested and charged with knowingly giving false information to law enforcement. He’s also charged with tampering with and destroying evidence for allegedly deleting more than 100 calls, along with texts, photos and internet searches from his Clay County Sheriff’s Office issued cell phone.

The group of individuals which showed up at the courthouse on Monday will dwindle down to six jurors and two alternates who will step in if a jury member can’t continue.

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That process will likely spill over into Tuesday, and the judge in this case is aiming for opening statements to begin in Tuesday afternoon. He also said the trial likely won’t go into next week.

The judge asked potential jurors if they’d heard of the case, how they had heard about it, if they had formed an opinion, and if they could set that aside in order to render a fair and impartial verdict if selected to serve on the jury.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors will also be asking potential jurors how they feel about extramarital affairs, and “tumultuous relationships” to determine if they have any biases on those topics as they relate to the case.

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RELATED COVERAGE:

2022: Former Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels appears in court, trial date set

2021: New documents, recordings released in investigation into former Clay sheriff Darryl Daniels

2020: FDLE says Daniels lied to investigators

2020: Darryl Daniels: Former Clay County sheriff officially charged with evidence tampering, false reports to law enforcement

2019: Sheriff Darryl Daniels’ booked into Clay County Jail, released, and makes public statement maintaining innocence

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