LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For more than 24 hours, Brett Hankison's high-profile federal trial has been behind closed doors, that was until Tuesday.
Hankison, a former Louisville Metro Police officer, is accused of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor and those of her neighbors during a botched 2020 raid of Taylor's apartment.
Attorneys and the judge finally returned to the courtroom Tuesday afternoon, but were joined by a second set of potential jurors. According to the court’s clerk, this group is apart of a much larger jury pool.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings and attorneys interviewed the first 44 potential jurors inside a library Monday.
Jennings said they plan to go through the same process with this new group of people, adding they still have 10 potential jurors left from the first group that need to be questioned.
While we don't know the exact questions being asked to potential jurors, early court documents show attorneys were interested in learning more about the jurors' criminal history, their perception of police, how they feel about the Black Lives Matter movement and what they know about the Breonna Taylor investigation.
The judge didn’t share if anyone from the first jury pool was chosen to be seated during trial.
As for Hankison, WHAS11's cameras caught him walking inside the federal building with his attorneys Tuesday morning.
He was briefly seen again inside the courtroom as Jennings addressed the court for the first time since Monday.
Right now, it's unclear when the 16-person jury will be seated or when opening statements will begin.
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