Wednesday a jury selection began in the high profile case involving two former Jacksonville City Council members.
Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown are not related but they both served as City Council members, and they both were indicted for accusations of money laundering and fraud.
Today a judge asked the jurors specific questions concerning what they knew about the case to see if they could be unbiased. The judge decided to dismiss 15 potential jurors, and they still have around 50 more to question on Thursday.
The initial trial was supposed to start last month. Action News Jax reported back then when Katrina Brown asked the judge for an extension. She wanted more time to prepare for the trial because she chose to represent herself.
Katrina Brown and Reggie Brown both were indicted on 38 federal counts.
TRENDING:
- U.S. Women's National Team announces soccer game at TIAA Bank Field
- "I'm going to miss him": Mother of teen killed in crash on Oakleaf Village Parkway speaks
- First space hotel set to open in 2025 with cruise ship, Disney World amenities
- Logan Mott pleads guilty to second degree murder charge
- Nassau County pair arrested; Florida man flees police custody while naked, report says
Both are accused of fraud and money laundering involving taxpayer funded financial incentives.
The charges stem from Katrina Brown's family barbecue sauce business.
Reggie Brown is also charged with not filing a 2014 tax return and not disclosing his alleged fraudulent earnings to the IRS.
Action News Jax caught up with both of the defendants on Wednesday morning. They were both limited on what they could say because the trail has not started. Katrina Brown said she chose to represent herself because it's her constitutional right.
Reggie Brown talked about what he was hoping for once the trial starts.
"I'm just hoping that justice will be served, I mean that's all we can ask for as Americans," Brown said.
Both appeared to be extremely confident in the process of the jury selection ahead of the trial.
Because there were so many options for juror selections the judge had to put the selection process on pause and which will resume Thursday.
In total there will be 12 jurors chosen and four alternatives.
STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories
Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/N7YMXJTJYJEFBCXSUI6KPLO7OM.png)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/04-19-2024/t_cce5cdc2bce2491e9ddd093667b9e4a9_name_file_960x540_1200_v3_1_.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/SKFDOR2IYNE4NDKFR6PGKELN3E.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/NQCTWRA7OVFP5ABEQBTBAG2E3A.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/J7GYQCIOL5BH7D4HKECLYBK3FY.jpg)