Jury vetting process determined

As part of a vetting process, 1,000 Kootenai County residents tapped for the jury pool in the trial of Jonathan D. Renfro must complete a 40-page survey before being selected to appear for a court review.

First District Judge Lansing Haynes met with attorneys Wednesday to hammer out rules for jury selection as well as to decide on procedures used in the trial of the 28-year-old man accused of murdering Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Greg Moore.

Renfro, of Rathdrum, is accused of shooting Moore May 5, 2015, in a Coeur d’Alene neighborhood near Atlas Road. He faces the death penalty if found guilty.

Appearing telephonically in Courtroom 12 at the Kootenai County jail, lead defense attorney R. Keith Roark of Twin Falls asked the court to not apprise the jury that his client is in custody.

That will entail allowing Renfro to dress in civilian clothing for the Sept. 11 trial, and although he will be restrained with shackles or cuffs, the restraints should not be evident to jurors.

Deputy Kootenai County prosecutors, including David Robins and Jed Whitaker, agreed to the terms. Parties also agreed to prohibiting jurors from using electronic devices in the courtroom to take notes, and mandating they not research electronically anything to do with the murder case at any time during the course of the six-week trial.

The constraint applies only to the courtroom.

“I was afraid we would have a revolution on our hands if we deprived them of (their devices) for six weeks,” Haynes said.

Parties also agreed to a motion from defense attorney Linda Payne to turn over to the defense team the jacket Renfro wore on the night of Moore’s death in time for a private lab in Illinois to collect and process forensic evidence before the trial.

Prosecutors said they would turn over the jacket as soon as it is tested in the Idaho State Police lab in the wake of the latest developments.

“Mr. Renfro shot from the pocket,” Robins said. “It’s undergoing testing. We will get it done and get it to the defense for analysis.”

Both parties agreed on a process to vet potential jurors including dividing the pool into smaller groups that will be surveyed, followed by questioning individuals as part of the group, and then having individuals be sequestered and questioned away from their peers.

Attorneys also reviewed a smattering of the more than 100 questions in the survey that is at least 40 pages long.

Questions cover topics such as whether candidates believed the death penalty should always be applied to someone convicted of killing a police officer, and if the potential jurors know anyone who displays a K27 sticker on their vehicle. The sticker depicts Moore’s police department badge number and is meant as a roving memorial to Moore.

Finally, Haynes reminded attorneys that Public Defender Anne Taylor — who was recently selected to take over the county office — may have a conflict of interest in Renfro’s case.

To mitigate concerns, a suggestion was made as part of an earlier proceeding to move Taylor out of the public defender’s office for the duration of the trial.

The defense instead submitted a series of steps to the public defender’s office to address the issue. The steps are part of a sealed file that Haynes reviewed.

“It appears to be acceptable to the court,” Haynes said.

Renfro, who appeared at Wednesday’s hearing with long hair, wearing black, thick-framed glasses and red, striped jailhouse pajamas was calm during the hour-long proceeding. His next court appearance is for an Aug. 4 motion hearing.