Inside View: Trial of Honduras Ex President JOH Kicks Off with Jury Selection as Inner City Press Tweets

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by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Substack

SDNY EXCLUSIVE, February 20 – After the president of Honduras' brother Tony Hernandez was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to life plus thirty years, on April 21, 2022 the ex-president himself, Juan Orlando Hernandez, was extradited to the United States.

[Espanol aqui]

On February 20, 2024, JOH's trial began with a full day of jury selection. Inner City Press live tweeted, thread here:

 All rise!

Judge Castel: This is a trial in which a man is accused of committing a crime. We have a large jury room. We have a fridge in there. I expect the trial will take between two and three weeks to complete. If that is a hardship, please raise your hand. 

Judge Castel: Please keep your hand raised - you in the orange? Yes. OK, now please line up in numerical order in front of that podium, beginning with juror 2. Counsel, set up at the sidebar... 

[jurados que dicen que 15 dias serían una dificultad hablan en la barra lateral, la prensa no puede escuchar 

OK - now Judge Castel openly questioning remaining jurors:

Juror 30: My husband was a prosecutor.

Judge: Could you be fair? Juror 30: Yes. Juror 37: My uncle used to work in the DEA. Judge: Could you be fair?

Juror 37: Yes sir.  Judge Castel: Anyone or their family member worked in criminal defense? Juror: My mother was a lawyer. Judge: Could you you fair? Juror: Yes. Juror 40: I have a good friend who is a criminal defense lawyer. Judge: Would you be embarrassed to vote guilty? Juror: No 

Juror 20: I was a victim of a mugging... Judge: Could you be fair? Juror 20: Yes. Judge: Anyone or their family ever run for political office? Juror: My mother is on a school board. 2d Juror: I worked in courts, 60 Centre

Judge: We'll talk more about law later.  Judge: I'll here Juror 55 at the sidebar, then we'll break for lunch. Thread will continue here later. [Juez: Llamaré al jurado 55 en la barra lateral y luego haremos una pausa para almorzar. El hilo continuará aquí más adelante. 

We're back. Judge: Any views on drugs or guns interfering with being fair? Jurors 26, 3, 12, 14 and 22, come to the sidebar. [Again, we can't hear] ¿Alguien tiene opiniones sobre las drogas o las armas que harían difícil ser justo? vengan a la barra lateral.

 Judge Castel: Anyone or their family ever been victim of a crime involving drugs or guns? Juror 36: Can I do it at the sidebar? Also: Jurors 30, 57, others Judge: Ever been part of a prosecution, or arrested? We'll talk about it at the sidebar.

 Juror 27: My father  Judge: What kind of charge? Juror 27: Extortion. Ten years ago. Judge: Could you be fair? Juror 27: Yes.

Jurors 49 and 41: Sidebar, please. Judge: Please line up in numerical order  Judge (back from sidebar) There may be testimony from cooperating witnesses. Do you have any feelings about the use of cooperating witnesses that would make it difficult to be fair? None.

Judge: Use of recorded conversations? None. Judge: Anyone study law?  Judge: In the jury room, no greater weight attaches to the view of a lawyer or one who studied law. You must follow my legal instructions.

Juror 26: My mother is a lawyer.

Juror 24: I was a law clerk for 10 years, he husband practices ERISA [benefits] law  Juror 20: I'm a notary. Juror 37: My husband practices corporate litigation. Juror 40: My brother is a law guardian, I can follow your instructions.

Juror 50: My friend works in the DA's office. My uncle was a judge in the Marshall Islands.  Judge: Do any of you know one another? No. Last time I checked we don't have a machine to look into another person's heart, even with all this talk about artificial intelligence. Anything more to disclose?

Juror 42: Sidebar, please  Judge: Juror 1, where do you live?

Juror 1: Manhattan. I got a bachelor's degree in 1978. I work as a background actor. Judge: How do you get your news?

Juror 1: Television. Like CNN. I also like science fiction. I'm a stand-up comedian a few times a week  Juror 3: I rent in Manhattan. I'm from Rochester NY. I have a master's degree in vocal performance. I'm a classical singer. I just watched "The Gilded Age." Judge: I saw one episode of that, I wasn't a long termer.

Juror 4, woman, from Germany, Manhattan 40 years  Juror 4: I watch Rumpole of the Bailey. Judge: Great.

Juror 7, woman: I live in The Bronx, I'm an accountant specialist, I have a 32 year old son. Judge: Does not seem possible. Juror 7: I watch Chicago PD.

 Juror 8, woman: I live in The Bronx 21 years. I was born in Haiti. I'm a caretaker. My son works for the MTA, my daughter works in a hospital emergency room. I like Perry Mason. I play Bingo. Judge: Tango? I can't do tango [some laughter] 

Juror 9, man: Manhattan 30 years. I was born in Port Washington NY. I do computer support at a museum. I like Ted Lasso and The Wire. I contribute to the ACLU.

Juror 10, woman: Manhattan 24 years, I own. I have a medical degree. I was a pediatrician.

  Juror 11 man: Westchester County. MBA. I work in human resources. BBC, Yahoo, you know, on the Internet. I belong to hereditary societies, like Colonial wars.

Juror 13, woman: Manhattan since 1975. I was a lawyer at a large firm. I just streamed "Fool Me Once." 

Judge Castel: People think I ask these questions for jury sections - it's actually how I get my recommendations. [Some laughter]

Juror 14, man: Manhattan two years. I'm in a Masters program. I teach 10th grade. I get my news from Twitter or X. I like Yankees, Jets  Judge Castel: I'm a Mets fan, so I have it worse [laughter]

Juror 17, woman; Manhattan 28 years, own. Born in Milwaukee. I'm the director of admissions at a small private college here in Manhattan. PBS; Jeopardy, 1970s sit coms. Judge: Ken Jennings as host?  Juror 17: That's a hard one. I've donated to Planned Parenthood and the NY Public Library.

Juror 18, woman: Harlem, 20 years. I was born in Washington Heights. I have an MBA. Six stepchildren: midwives and chefs, teachers. MSNBC every night. I like sports. NAN

 Juror 20, woman: Bronx, before that Scotland. MBA in health care administration. I do medical coding. No significant other right now. BBC. I like Korean dramas

Judge Castel: You're not the first juror I've had with that Juror 21: woman, Manhattan, 25 years. Morocco  Juror 21: I grew up in Israel. I get my news from Israeli channels. I watched a documentary about Obama.

Juror 23, woman: The Bronx 11 years. Masters degree. I work for the City, hospital. I don't really pay attention to the news. I like comics and sci-fi 

Juror 24, woman: New Rochelle 6 years. I have a JD (law degree). I now substitute teach. I have three kids. I get my news from the news feed. I follow the Chiefs and Mahomes. I do Zumba. Israeli charities Next juror: Westchester, born in Pakistan. Work in Staples 

Juror 36, woman: Manhattan, born in SF. I'm a fitness instructor and bartender. Twitter - Judge Castel: Frequent user.

Juror 36: Daily. I've donated to ACLU and Planned Parenthood. Juror 37, woman: Manhattan, 10 years. Born in Bethpage Judge Castel: I know it 

Juror 38, woman: Manhattan 6 years. MBA. I'm with a radiology program. ABC, FOX, CNN. I like comedies. TIkTok.

Juror 39, woman: Westchester, 16 years. Born in Boston. I work for a library. I get news by talking with friends. I watch Chicago Fire, The Voice, MASH 

Juror 40, woman: Westchester. Medical degree. Pediatric ER, now Urgent Care. I like to golf. ASPCA. Juror 41, woman: Westchester 32 years. I'm a speech therapist. I like college hockey. St. Jude's.

Juror 34, man: Westchester 62 years. BS in computer science.  Juror 42, man: Manhattan. I just retired after 42 years with the City. MSN feed, Microsoft Network. I like Judge Judy as a guilty pleasure. Knicks, Nets and Yankees.

Juror 44, woman: Rockland County. I was born in Kuwait. Judge Castel: I was there. I enjoyed it  Next juror, woman: Manhattan. Strategic consulting, [Accounting] firm. Husband is an investigative journalist for [a wire service]

Juror 46, man: Manhattan 21 years. Born in Michigan. I'm an actor - not in any of the shows you all mentioned today [laughter]  Juror 47, woman: Westchester 13 years. Office manager in an adult day care. Four kids: IT, EMT, teacher and speech therapist. No news for me. No clubs. King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond. Juror 48, woman: Manhattan 28 years. Born in UK. Podcasts 

Juror 49, woman: Westchester. I'm a vet [animal care]. 1010 WINS. Animal Planet. Sleeping is my hobby. Juror 50, man: Manhattan 8 years. From Colorado. I'm a software engineer. News from Twitter. I lift weights. Juror 51, man: The Bronx, in Puerto Rico before 

Juror 53, man: Manhattan 15 years. Born Rockville Center. Judge Castel: Mercy Hospital? Juror 53: Yes. I boycott social media, it accentuates the global totalitarian movement. 

Juror 54, man: Rockland County. I'm a software engineer. News from Yahoo. I'm a top backgammon player. Juror 56, woman: Bronx 4 years. I'm a research assistant. Google News. Star Trek, baseball. Sodoku. Cooking though I'm not very good Judge: It's a learned art 

Juror 60, man, Rockland County. Aircraft leasing.

Judge Castel: Jurors, do you know these places? Juror 24: I have a very good friend in Mexico. Juror 39: A cousin married a Guatemalan citizen. Another juror: I'm going to Guatemala to go walking and hiking. 

Judge Castel: The list includes Pompeo, Obama, Biden, Trump - they may have had interactions with people in this case - if their names come up, could you be fair? Raise your hand. No one?

Now I'm going to meet with the lawyers [we can't hear- thread will continue  [While the lawyers go over their notes about jurors, Juan Orlando Hernandez is standing up at defense table, staring into laptop, shaking his head / JOH está de pie en la mesa de la defensa, mirando la computadora portátil y sacudiendo la cabeza. 

Judge Castel: I'm going to ask the jurors who are in the jury box to step out. I'll seat the jury and say goodnight to others. [Voy a pedir a los que están en el estrado del jurado que salgan. Sentaré al jurado y daré las buenas noches a los demás. 

[Judge Castel names 12 jurors and six alternates - and swears them in [El juez Castel nombra a 12 jurados y seis suplentes y les toma juramento 

Judge Castel: I'm not going to keep you long - we'll exchange phone numbers you can call if you are late on the train. We'll start tomorrow at 10 am [Juez Castel: no los entretendré mucho... Empezaremos mañana a las 10 am.

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