With those three words, Jeff Cutler — defense attorney for Grant Ruffin Hayes — closed the door on three long days of jury selection in Hayes' trial for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend, former Kinston resident Laura Jean Ackerson.
Early Wednesday morning, the defense asked for Jurors No. 1, 3, 5 and 7 to be excused from duty, and they needed to be replaced. Juror No. 1 had a son active in Wake County law, Jurors No. 3 and 5 had Army combat experience and Juror No. 7 had religious objections to the practice of psychology.
All were white males.
Juror No. 1 is now a white female with young children who is originally from Wisconsin. She moved several times around the world with her family, as her father served in the Navy. She returned to the United States to attend college at Texas A&M and works in real estate in the Raleigh area.
Prosecutors and defense counsel went several rounds looking for a Juror No. 3 they could agree on, settling on the fifth person to occupy the chair.
The second Juror No. 3 was a middle-aged white female who worked for a law firm in the 1980s and 1990s, but is now a hospice nurse, changing careers after caring for her mother. The state used a pre-emptive challenge and excused her from serving.
An unemployed white male was the third Juror No. 3, who prosecutors wanted to strike for cause because of his history with DWI offenses and a perceived problem following questions asked and his own memory.
Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens denied the motion, so prosecutors executed a pre-emptive challenge and moved on to the next potential juror.
The fourth Juror No. 3 was a black male who works two jobs and is married with a 2-year-old and a stepson who's 12 years old. He explained how he was on vacation when he was called for jury duty. Prosecutors took exception with how he behaved — throwing up his hands and smirking, Assistant District Attorney Boz Zellinger said — when the juror was told his vacation time didn't represent a hardship that would exempt him from serving.
Subsequently, Zellinger asked Juror No. 3 to be excused.
Defense attorney Will Durham objected, saying the state acted in a racially discriminatory manner in jury selection — the man would have been one of two black members on an otherwise all-white jury.
Stephens, speaking in measured sentences, ruled the state was in no way discriminatory, and neither were the Wake County courts. Stephens excused the man from jury service, noting he still had three vacation days left.
The next juror up got the No. 3 slot. He's a 29-year-old black male who is married to the same person he dated in high school. He works for a medical supply company and has two young daughters.
Juror No. 5 is a black female with two relatives who are Wake County Sheriff's Office deputies, and one who serves as an officer in the Wake County Detention Center. She works locally as a nurse in a cardiac care unit.
Juror No. 7 is a white male, originally from Wilson, who earned bachelor's and master's degrees at ECU and works in accounting. He said he left North Carolina with his wife as she studied to be a chiropractor near Atlanta, but they returned to be closer to family.
Children of jurors No. 1 and 7 attend the same school, but they said they don't know each other very well and said it would not be an issue in the case.
It wasn't until 3:40 p.m. the trial had 12 jurors set to hear the case.
"The state having passed the four jurors now seated," Stephens said, "the defendant having passed the four jurors now seated, these four jurors will join the eight jurors previously selected, and constitute the original jurors to try this lawsuit."
The jury as constituted has eight women, four men, 10 whites and two blacks.
Three alternates will sit with the original 12 jurors. Alternate No. 1, seated late Wednesday, is a black male, and Vietnam veteran, who works in property development with the City of Raleigh.
The first two candidates for the next alternate juror spot were excused and the court will attempt to seat two more alternates beginning at 9:30 a.m. today.
Stephens said the jury will be called to report at 11:30 a.m. today to hear opening statements in the case.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.