Jury Selection Begins In Dominion-Fox News Defamation Trial

Jury selection started on Thursday in Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, as both sides appear to be headed for a trial next week.

At the 7th floor of the Leonard Williams Justice Center in downtown Wilmington, DE, jurors are being questioned one by one behind closed doors in proceedings led by Judge Eric Davis and up to four attorneys and other representatives from each side. Fox plans to bring in a jury consultant to that part of the process.

The judge said that, in an initial raised-hand query of 82 jurors on whether they could be impartial, 23 did not raise their hand, leaving 59 to be questioned further.

Judge Says He Plans To Appoint Special Master To Investigate Whether Fox Withheld Evidence After Dominion Attorneys Cite Recently Revealed Maria Bartiromo Audio Recordings

In recent days, the judge and attorneys have hashed over questions for the jurors. Davis has instructed attorneys to avoid questions that would be “previewing” the case. Example: A proposed Dominion query on whether jurors “personally know Steve Bannon.” He indicated to attorneys that he wanted to avoid questions of how a juror voted in 2020, or whether Joe Biden was “properly elected.” Rather, he said, he wanted to know whether jurors can be “fair and impartial.”

Both sides, naturally, will be watching throughout the day whether any juror shows signs of bias. But the judge wants to keep much of the process of one-on-one questioning sealed, telling attorneys that he is worried about the identities of jurors being disclosed given the high profile nature of the case.

One question that will be allowed: “Do you regularly watch Fox News programs on television or any other medium, including social media, and, if so, will this affect your ability to be fair and impartial?” Conversely, the judge signaled that he would also allow a question, “Do you avoid Fox News programs and does this affect your ability to be fair and impartial?”

As high profile as the case is, drawing reporters from around the world, the judge is not allowing cameras, unlike last year’s Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial in Virginia. There will be an audio line for remote media coverage, but Davis on Thursday indicated that he was likely to reject a request from news organizations to allow recording of the proceedings. “I have gone as far as I can go in respect to access,” Davis said.

Up to 50 reporters are expected to be credentialed to cover in person, meaning they can bring electronic devices into the court building. On the King Street plaza in front of the court complex, three television crews were set up on Thursday, preparing for what may be six weeks or more of trial proceedings.

As would be expected, an army of attorneys is present, each side sitting in three rows of three on both sides, for a total of 18 seats. Other members of the legal team are in the front gallery rows.

Dominion sued Fox News and later its parent company, Fox Corp., claiming that its hosts and guests amplified false claims that the election systems company was involved in rigging the results of the 2020 presidential election. Fox News contends that it was merely covering the newsworthy allegations being made by Donald Trump. But Davis has said that the network’s legal team cannot use that as a defense. Instead, the jury will decide whether Fox engaged in actual malice, or that they knew the claims were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. Fox denies those claims.

A settlement is always possible, particularly in the days leading up to the trial, but so far attorneys have engaged in a bit of high stakes drama in pre-trial challenges. Davis said this week that he plans to appoint a special master to look into whether Fox withheld evidence until only recently, including newly disclosed recordings of host Maria Bartiromo’s conversations with Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell before their November, 2020 appearances on her Sunday show.