Lane was one of the defense attorneys for the former Fort Worth officer accused of murder. The attorney died a day before jury selection began.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Editor’s note: The video above is from a report on Nov. 27, 2022.
A funeral date for one of the defense attorneys for former Fort Worth officer Aaron Dean has been set — and it remains unclear if it will delay the start of Dean’s murder trial.
Jim Lane, a longtime Tarrant County lawyer, died last Sunday, Nov. 27, after sources told WFAA he fell and injured himself a week before Thanksgiving.
He was hospitalized and in hospice care before he died.
Lane, who was representing the former Fort Worth officer accused of murdering Atatiana Jefferson, died a day before jury selection began for the trial.
Sources confirmed to WFAA that Lane’s funeral is set for Monday, Dec. 5.
Opening statements for Dean’s trial are scheduled to begin that Monday as well. It’s unclear at this point if the funeral will delay the start of the trial.
Lane practiced law for decades in Texas, including criminal defense and military court martial defense. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker called Lane a “trailblazer” who had a “fierce love for Fort Worth.
Lane recently worked as a defense attorney for Dean but had dealt with health issues earlier this year. Defense lawyers Bob Gill and Miles Brisette, who had taken over as the lead attorneys in the case, asked for a delay in Dean’s trial due to Lane’s declining health back in May.
After several delays over the last few years, defense attorney and prosecutors will look to seat a jury of 12 and two alternates this Thursday or Friday.
Five potential jurors were released from the selection process on Monday because of conflicts at home or work. Another 48 jurors were released Wednesday after they were individually questioned by Judge George Gallagher, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Those 48 dismissed potential jurors were among the 109 who were called back for additional questioning after they told the court they had seen, read or heard something about the case.
Many of the 109 potential jurors questions said that, while they had heard something about the case, they didn’t know details and had not formed an opinion about what happened. But, of the 48 jurors released Wednesday, the majority testified that they were biased against Dean and could not set those biases aside.
Other potential jurors said they had marched with Black Lives Matter or had an opinion about police officers and use of force against people of color. One juror told the judge outright that he thought Dean was guilty. Another handful of potential jurors were dismissed when they said they could not convict a police officer.
The rest were released because they had vacation plans, childcare needs or medical issues.
The more than 60 jurors who made it through Wednesday’s questioning will be back Thursday, along with nearly 100 other potential jurors who said they had not hear anything about this case.
Dean is accused of killing Atatiana Jefferson in October 2019. Her neighbor had called a non-emergency number to have someone check on her home because there was a door open.
Dean and his partner arrived, and minutes later, Jefferson was fatally shot. Body camera footage showed Dean never announced himself as a police officer, as he went around the back of Jefferson’s home and shot her within two seconds after she peered out the window.