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https://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/Ju...322505552.html
UPDATED
August 21, 2015
By Julie Montanaro
A jury is now sworn and ready to hear the case against FSU football player Dalvin Cook.
Cook is accused of punching a woman outside a bar.
Six jurors and one alternate are now sworn to hear the case against FSU football player Dalvin Cook.
Nearly all of the jurors on the panel said they'd heard about the case on the news - most said they were fsu fans - and one even works at the university.
"All we ask is that they set aside whatever they've heard and that they make a determination just on the evidence they hear in the courtroom on Monday," said prosecutor Sarah Kathryn Dugan.
The record setting FSU running back will stand trial Monday on misdemeanor battery charges. Cook is accused of punching a woman outside Clyde's and Costello's bar in June.
Both sides were quick to point out this is not the De'Andre Johnson punch caught on tape.
"Different night, different spot, different football player," Dugan stressed to the jury.
Attorneys questioned potential jurors for more than two hours.
One prospective juror was dismissed by the defense after saying she was disgusted by the 'glorification of football players.'
"It's more our society's perception of, you know, 'put the football player up here, and put the victim down there,' the woman said.
Prosecutors wanted to be sure none of the jurors would base their verdict on the prospect of Cook returning to the starting line up.
"Are any of you automatically going to come back with a verdict of "not guilty" just because Mr. Cook is an FSU football player?" Dugan asked.
The jury will return Monday morning to begin hearing from nearly a dozen witnesses who were there the night Cook is accused of throwing punches at a woman. It's an accusation Cook has denied since day one.
"We have an innocent football player who's being accused of attacking another person, and there's nothing else except testimony, so hopefully the jurors will be open they'll listen to testimony and they'll make the right decisions," defense attorney Ricky Patel said.
We will be in court Monday to cover the trial. We'll keep you posted on a verdict.
UPDATED
August 21, 2015
By Julie Montanaro
A jury is now sworn and ready to hear the case against FSU football player Dalvin Cook.
Cook is accused of punching a woman outside a bar.
Six jurors and one alternate are now sworn to hear the case against FSU football player Dalvin Cook.
Nearly all of the jurors on the panel said they'd heard about the case on the news - most said they were fsu fans - and one even works at the university.
"All we ask is that they set aside whatever they've heard and that they make a determination just on the evidence they hear in the courtroom on Monday," said prosecutor Sarah Kathryn Dugan.
The record setting FSU running back will stand trial Monday on misdemeanor battery charges. Cook is accused of punching a woman outside Clyde's and Costello's bar in June.
Both sides were quick to point out this is not the De'Andre Johnson punch caught on tape.
"Different night, different spot, different football player," Dugan stressed to the jury.
Attorneys questioned potential jurors for more than two hours.
One prospective juror was dismissed by the defense after saying she was disgusted by the 'glorification of football players.'
"It's more our society's perception of, you know, 'put the football player up here, and put the victim down there,' the woman said.
Prosecutors wanted to be sure none of the jurors would base their verdict on the prospect of Cook returning to the starting line up.
"Are any of you automatically going to come back with a verdict of "not guilty" just because Mr. Cook is an FSU football player?" Dugan asked.
The jury will return Monday morning to begin hearing from nearly a dozen witnesses who were there the night Cook is accused of throwing punches at a woman. It's an accusation Cook has denied since day one.
"We have an innocent football player who's being accused of attacking another person, and there's nothing else except testimony, so hopefully the jurors will be open they'll listen to testimony and they'll make the right decisions," defense attorney Ricky Patel said.
We will be in court Monday to cover the trial. We'll keep you posted on a verdict.
