News Photo by Steve Schulwitz 88th District Court Judge Allen Curtis issues directions to jurors during jury selection for the upcoming trial of Brad Srebnik. Srebnik is charged with two counts of premeditated murder, weapons charges, and disinterment and mutilation of a body. If convicted, he faces life in prison. The trial is slated to begin on Jan. 19.

ALPENA – The jury that will decide the fate of Brad Srebnik is set and ready to do their civic duty.

Srebnik is accused of murdering Brynn Bills and Abby Hill in 2021.

He is charged with two counts of premeditated murder, weapons charges, and disinterment and mutilation of a body. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

On Thursday at the APlex, the prosecution and defense settled on the 16-person jury, which consists of eight men and eight women.

All 16 jury members will sit in the trial, but only 12 will deliberate, based on a random selection process when the time comes.

The court decided to seat more jurors to avoid any delays that could arise from COVID-19 infections or other unexpected circumstances.

Allen Curtis, 88th District Court Judge, gave the jury its instructions, outlined their responsibilities at trial, and gave them their oath.

Curtis filled in for 26th Circuit Court Judge Ed Black who was waiting for the results of a review by a fellow judge appointed by the State Court Administrative Office on an order made by Black denying a motion by the defense that he refused to recuse himself from the bench.

Defense attorney Patrick Cherry requested a review of Black’s decision by the administrative office.

After jury selection on Thursday, 28th Circuit Court Judge Jason Elmore affirmed the denial of the motion seeking Black to recuse himself from the bench and Black is expected to reside over the trial when it begins.

The trial is slated to begin on Jan.19 and wrap up in about two weeks time.

Potential jury members were questioned for a day and a half over any opinions they may have formed from the expansive news coverage of the death of the two girls and the search for them after they went missing.

A large majority of the jurors who were seated, or considered, had said they knew some details about the case and some indicated they had formed opinions on how the alleged crimes occurred and who was responsible for them.

Some said they would be unable to give Srebnik a fair trial because of the conclusion they have made already. Those people were released and not put on the jury.

Defense attorney Patrick Cherry said the amount of press the case received, especially locally, made it challenging to find candidates for the jury that knew nothing of the case. He said all the legal counsel on both sides can do is take them at their word when they pledged to base their verdict on the evidence at the trial and nothing else.

“It was a challenging process in that we spent more time focused on the publicity issues and less time focused on concerns about a fair and impartial jury that we would normally ask about,” Cherry said. “I am concerned that several of the jurors that we kept have expressed that they had opinions formed prior to being selected as a result of the publicity. We exist on an imperfect system, but the best system in the world. It’s just that we have to take people at their word that they can judge my client on the evidence only and not what they may have read or been told.”

During jury instructions, Curtis made it clear that the restrictions on what jurors can and can’t do are in place now. He said each juror should not read, listen, or watch any report about the case or discuss it with anyone, including one another. Curtis also said researching past developments in the case was also not allowed. He said it is the jurors who will have the final say on whether Srebnik is innocent or guilty and that conclusion must come from the physical evidence and witness testimony.

“As jurors, you are the ones that will decide this case,” Curtis said. “Your responsibility is to decide what the facts in the case are. That is your job and no one else’s.”