Huguely pleads not guilty as jury selection continues

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Jury selection is set to resume in the case of a former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of killing his ex-girlfriend.

George Huguely V of Chevy Chase, Md., pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges on Monday. It was his first court appearance since his arrest in 2010, when he was ordered held without bond.

He's charged in the May 2010 death of Yeardley Love of Cockeysville, Md. She was a member of the Virginia women's lacrosse team.

The process of choosing the jury from 160 candidates began Monday and is expected to last through at least part of the day on Tuesday in Charlottesville Circuit Court.

After a full day of questioning, only 19 out of 40 people were deemed eligible to be a part of the pool from which a jury will be selected. Lawyers dismissed eight potential jurors after determining them unable to hear the case and deliver an unbiased opinion.

According to court documents, Huguely kicked down the door to Love’s bedroom and violently shook her, allowing her head to hit the wall behind her repeatedly. An autopsy report said Love died of blunt force trauma to the head, though some expert witnesses think that her death could be linked to the consumption of alcohol and Adderall.

Huguely, 24, walked into the courtroom looking quite different than his most recent police booking photo. Since entering Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, Huguely appears to have lost a considerable amount of weight. This was his first public appearance since his arrest the day Love died.

Love’s mother, Sharon Love, and her sister, Lexie Love, both cried as Judge Edward Hogshire read the indictments against Huguely. He is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, robbery, burglary, statutory burglary and grand larceny.

Huguely is represented by Francis McQ. Lawrence and Rhonda Quagliana, while Commonwealth’s Attorney Dave Chapman and Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Claude Worrell will serve as the prosecution.

The defendant, as well as two benches worth of his family members and friends, remained somber and largely silent throughout the first day of jury selection. Huguely showed no visible signs of emotion at the mention of Love’s name, or her death.

Though potential jurors were summoned to appear in groups of 45, only 40 showed up to court for Monday’s morning session. The case will be heard by 12 jurors and three alternates, who will be chosen at random at the trial’s conclusion.

At first, jurors were questioned individually about their knowledge of the case, as well as any personal connection to domestic violence or alcohol abuse. Several potential jurors had prior experience with domestic violence.

“I don’t mean to sound callous; it’s part of my past,” one juror said in court.

Another juror said that she closely sympathized with the Love family because she has a daughter in college. She said it was “difficult” to talk about the details of Love’s death in front of her surviving family members.

The process inched along, and counsel only found two suitable jurors prior to the court’s luncheon recess at 12:30 p.m. The defense objected to almost every witness prior to the break.

Hogshire asked each juror: “Do you know anything about the case as a result of reading about it or hearing about it in the media?”

Almost every juror had some previous knowledge of the case. Several followed the case closely, and were dismissed when they admitted to having formed an opinion on Huguely’s guilt or innocence.

“We’re not going to be able to pick a jury [using this system],” Hogshire told the defense prior to the lunch break, after some three hours of questioning.

Quagliana objected.

“All of the jurors received some information from the media,” she said, adding that moving to group questioning would “end up causing the very problem we’ve sought to avoid.”

The defense also questioned potential jurors about their personal beliefs relating to alcohol. Quagliana asked jurors if they could follow a judge’s instruction that intoxication is a defense to first-degree murder. The defense also asked if would-be jurors thought that crimes were actually worse if committed while intoxicated.

One potential juror was dismissed after expressing her dislike for student athletes in general. She said she works in a parking lot, and thinks many of the football, basketball, soccer and lacrosse players she has encountered consider themselves “entitled.”

After lunch, the remaining potential jurors were questioned in two larger groups. Those who admitted to having exposure to media surrounding the case or personal connections to any of the issues raised by the trial answered further questions individually.

Though most jurors had to answer some questions individually, the selection process moved much faster under the new system. Seventeen of the 19 potential jurors were selected using the new method. The court ended the day just before 8:30 p.m.

Because of the tedious nature of the process, only one of the two groups of potential jurors scheduled to appear Monday made it to questioning. As a result, Hogshire pushed back each group’s meeting time. Now, the second group, originally scheduled for Monday afternoon, will meet Tuesday morning. A third group will meet Tuesday afternoon, if necessary.

Hogshire advised all of those who were not disqualified from the case to return to court Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.

However, a person is not guaranteed a seat in the jury box just because he was not dismissed in the first stage of the selection process. The defense and commonwealth’s attorneys still have the opportunity to strike some people from the final jury after an adequately-sized pool is assembled.