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Jury selection enters new phase in Sneiderman case

ATLANTA — Jury selection entered a new phase in the case against a Dunwoody widow.

Andrea Sneiderman is accused of lying about an affair with the man who killed her husband.

Channel 2's Mike Petchenik was at the DeKalb County Courthouse Wednesday tracking developments in the case.

It took three days, but attorneys finally narrowed down their pool of jurors to 42. Now, they'll have to pick the actual jury to hear the case against Sneiderman.

She came into court Wednesday afternoon to hear the proceedings. Prosecutors said she had an affair with her former boss, Hemy Neuman, and lied about it.

A jury later convicted Neuman of killing Sneiderman's husband, Rusty Sneiderman. The murder happened in 2010, moments after he dropped his son off at day care.

Attorneys questioned dozens of people about what they thought of this case and whether they have any opinions about it. They asked people if they could listen to the evidence and make a decision.

One former prosecutor says juror selection is crucial to the outcome of the case.

"They want to pick a jury that doesn't have an agenda and that will do the right thing based on the evidence. They're the finder of fact," attorney Ken Hodges said.

Hodges says the state is looking for conservative, moralistic jurors who would critically judge Sneiderman, while her attorneys want sympathetic, understanding jurors.

That panel is back in court Thursday so that the attorneys can pick the jury of 12, plus three alternates, to hear the case.