Jury Selection To Begin In Darryl Lierman Case

An initial jury pool of nearly 100 will be narrowed down to a jury of 12 for the Darryl Lierman trial in Antelope County District Court today.

Lierman, 51, was arrested at his Neligh home on July 14, 2015. He has been charged with three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child, two counts of third-degree sexual assault of a child and three counts of child abuse.

The panel of potential jurors, or venire, will be seated in the courtroom as Judge Mark Johnson and lawyers in the case select jurors. Lierman’s court-appointed attorneys are Doug Stratton and Jason Doele, and the state is represented by Antelope County Attorney Joe Abler, Assistant Antelope County Attorney Joe Smith, and Assistant Nebraska Attorney General Sandra Allen. 

The lawyers for both sides and the trial judge will choose the jury by a process known as voir dire. During voir dire, the judge and attorneys will ask the potential jurors questions to determine their competency, as well as their biases and backgrounds.

When the challenges are complete and the proper number of jurors are selected (as well as alternates), the jury will take their seats in the jury box. The jury will be sworn in during the final step of the selection process.