BURLINGTON — Lawyers quizzed potential jurors for nearly a full day before selecting the panel that will weigh the case of the Burlington man charged with shooting and wounding three Palestinian students nearly three years ago.
The process of seating 12 jurors and four alternates in the case against Jason Eaton began Thursday morning in Chittenden Superior criminal court in Burlington. By late Thursday afternoon, the court had selected all 16 jurors.
However, it didn’t happen without a loud hitch.
Just as the attorneys and Judge John Pacht had whittled down the jury pool, a fire alarm in the building sounded.
“We do have a jury,” Pacht shouted to the room packed with potential jurors, attorneys, media members and other onlookers.
Pacht then told everyone to evacuate the building, saying he would provide more information when they could safely return.
Burlington Fire Capt. Nathan Perkins said a broken sprinkler head in a parking garage that is part of the courthouse building set off the alarm.
About 45 minutes later, with the alarm no longer sounding, everyone returned to the courtroom and the selected jurors were told to return Monday for the start of the trial with opening statements. The trial is expected to run a week.
The case centers on Eaton’s mental condition at the time of the shootings, with his attorneys expected to raise an insanity defense. Defense and prosecution experts are expected to offer differing views on whether Eaton meets the legal standard for insanity.
Eaton’s mental health has been a central component of the case leading up to the trial, with the judge repeatedly ruling that Eaton is competent to stand trial.
Eaton has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted second-degree murder in the shootings of Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Aliahmad in Burlington on the same evening in November 2023. Awartani remains paralyzed.
The three out-of-state university students were in Burlington visiting friends and family over Thanksgiving that year. At the time of the shooting, according to court documents, the three men were wearing keffiyehs, a traditional scarf that is a symbol of Palestinian identity.
If convicted of even one of the charges, Eaton, 51, faces up to life in prison without parole.
The judge said about 100 potential jurors had been called to court Thursday for the jury draw in the high-profile case. As part of the process, some jurors were called into the courtroom one at a time to explain answers they gave in a questionnaire used to help screen the pool.
Eaton, who had appeared in green prison attire at previous court hearings, wore a gray sportcoat, dark pants, a white shirt, and a blue tie Thursday as he sat at the defense table between his attorneys.
Many of the attorneys’ questions focused on whether potential jurors could return a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity and not criminally responsible if the defense had proven that during the trial.
“I think I can,” replied one man.
“If evidence for that was evident,” a woman told the attorneys.
“I could follow the law,” another man added.
Not every one of the potential jurors said they could. The court struck those people from the pool.
One man said he saw the insanity defense as something some people use to escape accountability for their actions. Another person said their values kept them from returning a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.
Several potential jurors were also asked whether they learned anything about the case from social media or the news. Some said they had heard about it but hadn’t formed strong opinions on what happened and believed they could still be fair and impartial as a juror.
One woman said that based on reports she had seen, it appeared the shootings were racially motivated. She added that she could keep an open mind if she ended up on the jury.
No clear motive for the shootings has been revealed, and the prosecutors have not charged Eaton with a hate crime in connection with the shootings.
Eaton contended at an earlier hearing that he was acting on behalf of a federal government agency, but no evidence has been presented to support that assertion.
Later Thursday afternoon, a group of potential jurors was brought into the courtroom and questioned together by Margaret Jansch, one of Eaton’s attorneys, and Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George.
Then the attorneys gathered with the judge at the bench, holding papers with grids as they worked to select the final jury members and alternates.
Eaton has been held without bail since his November 2023 arrest.
This story was first published by VtDigger and is republished with permission as part of the Vermont Journalism Trust’s Community News Sharing Project.