Dozens of people are filing into a Shiawassee County courtroom with the chance of being selected as a juror in the Harlan Drake murder trial.
Drake is accused of killing pro-life advocate Jim Pouillon and business owner Mike Fous on September 11th last year.
Extra steps have been taken in order to get an impartial jury.
33-year-old Harlan Drake entered the courtroom Tuesday looking pleasant, grinning at times, and nodding at the judge.
Behind him, dozens of potential jurors sat silently wondering if they'll be selected.
10 jurors didn't show up Tuesday. Some say, they're intimidated by the whole ordeal.
Both the prosecution and defense agreed an 11-page questionaire would help determine the potential jurors knowledge of the case, their exposure to media accounts, and if they already have strong opinions.
The prosecution says it's yet to find out if the jury can be impartial and fair, however it has filed for a change of venue.
The court has taken that into consideration.
However, the defense believes an impartial jury is possible in Shiawassee County.
Drake's defense attorney, Robert Ashley, says "Obviously, there's been a lot of media coverage, but as the the judge stressed to the jury this morning, that's not the test. People in a small community know people all the time. The question is, are the people willing to put aside what they heard about the case and hear the case in a fair and impartial manner for both sides?"
In the meantime, the selection process begins and the legal strategies unfold.
The defense plans to use an insanity defense. Ashley says, "We think it's the best defense we can put forth for him."
They'll try to prove drake was mentally ill at the time of the killings.
The prosecution says, it's gone against insanity defenses before.
Shiawassee County Prosecutor Randy Colbry says, "It's not something you can say 'Here's the gun. Here's the bullet.' It's in the mind. So it's a little bit different area, and you have to prepare for it differently."
The prosecution says it has a witness list of 50 people, which the defense will try to discredit.
Jury selection continues Wednesday. That's the earliest the trial could begin. It's expected to last around 3-weeks.
