Jury selection begins in federal civil rights trial involving Jordan Brown's lawsuit against Pa. State Police, troopers
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (KDKA) -- Jury selection began Tuesday in the federal civil rights trial involving a lawsuit that Jordan Brown filed against the Pennsylvania State Police.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020, alleging that Brown's rights were violated by the State Police and by the Troopers who were investigating the 2009 homicide in Lawrence County that resulted in his conviction that was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Brown was 11 years old when he was charged with shooting and killing his father's fiancee, Kenzie Houk with a shotgun inside a home just outside New Castle.
He was tried as a juvenile and found delinquent, spending more than seven years behind bars.
In 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously overturned Brown's conviction, saying there was not enough evidence to prove that the shotgun was the murder weapon.
The lawsuit focuses on state police investigators Janice Wilson, Jeffery Martin, Troy Steinheiser, and the estate of now-deceased investigator Robert McGraw.
Brown is looking for monetary compensation and an opportunity to clear his name. Brown said in the past that the actions of the Troopers and the investigation, in general, stole seven years of his childhood.
The lawsuit claims that Troopers manipulated interviews, evidence, and procedures in order to get a conviction in the case.
Federal judge Scott Harvey warned all potential jurors that if they are selected for the panel, they could see a trial lasting from seven to 10 days.