Grand Forks downtown bar murder trial begins with full day of jury selection
Jun. 17—GRAND FORKS — Jury selection for a Grand Forks murder trial lasted all day Tuesday, June 17.
Nicholas Jon Narveson, 27, is charged with Class AA felony murder, which has a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Narveson is also charged with two Class C felonies involving the use of a dangerous weapon — terrorizing and reckless endangerment showing extreme indifference.
He is accused of fatally shooting 53-year-old James Erwin Jorgenson on July 4, 2024, at Sledsters Food And Brew, a downtown Grand Forks bar.
The defense plans to make a self defense argument, while the prosecution will attempt to prove that the shooting was not justified and was, instead, murder.
Jury selection for Narveson's trial officially began at 9:23 a.m. Tuesday, with 60 people gathered for voir dire, or questioning prior to trial to ensure an impartial jury.
Some potential jurors were dismissed early on due to conflicts of interest including personal and professional proximity to witnesses and past experiences with violence. Others said they read or heard about the alleged crimes in the news, or were downtown that evening and saw the commotion; they remained in the jury pool after agreeing what they learned would not affect their ability to remain impartial.
After Judge Kristi Venhuizen, who is presiding over this case, asked more basic questions about potential conflicts, Sam Gereszek, defense attorney in this case, spent approximately two hours asking his own prepared questions of the potential jurors.
Some lines of inquiry included potential jurors' opinions on firearms and whether they possessed any, what extent people should be able to go to in the interest of self defense and whether it depends on the level of force used against them, whether they need to be struck first for their response to count as self defense, whether they understand that everyone's perception of threat is different and if they would be biased against a defendant who doesn't testify in their own defense.
Prosecutor Andrew Eyre's line of questioning lasted approximately one hour. He asked about potential jurors' legal backgrounds and their ability to set their related knowledge aside and only consider the law as the judge presents it to them, whether they have any bias against the criminal justice system due to previous experiences as the accused or a victim and what level of violence is permitted against someone depending on what threat they are facing.
After the defense and prosecution finished their questioning periods and dismissed anyone who appeared to have a conflict, dozens of potential jurors still remained. Both parties then went into the process of narrowing down their selections, which took approximately 45 minutes.
Around 4 p.m., the jury of 14 people — which includes two alternates — was selected and everyone else was dismissed.
It was decided to wait to begin presenting opening instructions and statements from the defense and prosecution until 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 18. The jury was dismissed for the night shortly after.
Throughout the trial, evidence expected to be presented includes video footage from a bar; the firearm, bullets and other weapon paraphernalia; witness statements and police testimony.
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