Prospective jurors in Tree of Life case being summoned to federal court to fill out questionnaires

Prospective jurors in the Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting case are being summoned to federal court beginning Monday to fill out questionnaires to determine whether they can serve on the jury.

U.S. District Judge Robert J. Colville summoned the prospective jurors to appear in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh over the course of the next two weeks.

The would-be jurors will be separated into groups, with individual groups being required to report to the court at either 9 a.m. or 2 p.m. daily to fill out the questionnaires.

Colville did not say during a status conference Thursday how large the prospective jury pool is. The prospective jurors have been selected from a 24-county area in Western Pennsylvania.

Robert Bowers, 50, formerly of Baldwin, is charged with killing 11 people inside the Squirrel Hill synagogue during services the morning of Oct. 27, 2018.

His trial is expected to start in late April and last about three months.

The government is seeking the death penalty.

Colville said Thursday that when prospective jurors arrive at court, there will be a 20-minute session providing them with instructions on how to complete the questionnaire. The session will be streamed via video to a separate courtroom for public viewing.

After that, Colville said, the prospective jurors will be escorted to a private room to complete the questionnaires.

The case against Bowers, which has been pending for nearly 4½ years, has been litigated extensively by both sides. The docket is replete with dozens of sealed motions and orders.

Bowers is charged with 63 counts, including obstructing the free exercise of religion resulting in death.

Defense attorneys sought to prohibit the government from seeking the death penalty, but Colville denied that motion in an opinion issued in February.