Attorneys on both sides of the George Zimmerman trial have selected a pool of 40 jurors who will go on to a second round of questioning.
After seven days of jury selection, Judge Debra Nelson asked the 40 retained jurors to return for traditional voir dire questioning at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
The jury pool includes 16 men and 24 women. Based on what reporters have perceived in the courtroom, it appears 26 of the jurors are white, 7 are black, 3 are Hispanic and 4 are mixed-race.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys had been questioning jurors about their exposure to media coverage of the case since June 10. They will now be able to ask those invited to the next round more detailed questions about how they feel about the case.
Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford last year.
See a FULL RECAP online from Day 7 of jury selection.
Lawyers interviewed nine jurors Tuesday, and retained eight to fill their pool of 40.
Some of the jurors expressed some concerns, hardships or other circumstances in their lives that made many watching the trial think they would be dismissed. But in nearly every case Tuesday, they were moved on to Round 2 of questioning.
Several of Tuesday's batch of jurors appeared to be unbiased and willing to keep a completely open mind about George Zimmerman's guilt or innocence until they saw and heard all the evidence.
But some other factors came into play, especially with one juror, H-69, who said she was five and a half months pregnant. Even she was called back for more questioning.
Another potential juror, H-81, seemed to be the most level-headed juror yet.
"I'm not trying to apply for this job as a juror, to be clear," the man said, causing Zimmerman to laugh. "But this is how I approach these cases: People form opinions, they talk about it, and most of the time, I take the unpopular position as to say, 'You guys don't really know what happened there. You can't possibly know what happened there.'"
The catch: Juror H-81 revealed he has two ongoing civil lawsuits in Seminole County, both before Judge Nelson. He told the judge that would not affect his decision-making if selected for the Zimmerman trial.
Another potential juror, a young woman believed to be in her late teens or 20s, was questioned extensively on whether she could afford to leave work for several weeks to serve on a jury.
"If it's, like, every day like this, I don't know how I'm going to pay the bills at the end of the month, if I'm just continuously here," said Juror I-19, who said her employer would not compensate her for jury duty. But despite her financial concerns, she moved on as well.
So, what does this tell us? Attorneys on both sides are focused, above all else, on finding people whom they believe can keep an open mind -- and that trumps everything else, including financial hardships, pending court cases before the same judge, and even pregnancy.
No decision yet on 911 call dispute
After eight more jurors were interviewed Monday, a voice expert testifying for the defense said samples of screams from a 911 call made the night Trayvon Martin was shot and killed are not sufficient enough to analyze for a possible match.
The 911 call lasted moments, but the analysis of it is lasting days.
Monday night Judge Debra Nelson heard from another voice expert on the 911 call where someone screamed for help on Feb. 26, 2012, the night Trayvon Martin was shot. The questioning lasted for over four hours.
Dr. James Wayman testified for the defense that there is no way to prove who is screaming for help in the background of the 911 call.
Last week, the state had voice analysts testify that they believe it was Martin heard screaming for help.
Wayman attributes several factors to his analysis. He stated the environment, the 911 system, cell phone technology, the distance from the person heard on the phone and the phone itself all play a role in making it impossible to know the source of the scream.
Wayman, a voice expert based out of California, is currently in London and addressed the courtroom via Skype.
For the most part, George Zimmerman stared at the large video screen in the courtroom, watching and listening to the testimony.
Defense Attorney Mark O'Mara was not in the courtroom for the hearing Monday evening. Both Shellie Zimmerman and Martin's parents were in the courtroom earlier in the day, but neither party stayed for the Frye hearing.
During the state's cross examination, they questioned Dr. Wayman on the number of times he actually listened to the calls before making his determination.
They also questioned why Wayman did not provide the state with a copy of a PowerPoint presentation that was used to clarify technical terms used about biometrics.
Wayman said this was his first time testifying in a criminal court proceeding and did not understand the rules. He said he was trying to be helpful by providing the court with the PowerPoint presentation.
Wayman said he has over 35 years of experience in his field. He said he has been paid by several countries around the world including the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany to provide his expertise on biometrics. He has also worked for the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Frye hearing will continue at 4 p.m. Wednesday, as the state will bring back one of their voice experts, Tom Owen.
Judge Nelson also has yet to rule on a motion from the defense to ban defamatory language against Zimmerman, such as referring to him as a "vigilante," "wannabe cop" or "self-appointed neighborhood watch captain," that he "profiled" or "confronted" Trayvon Martin, or that he got out of his car after police or a 911 dispatcher "told him not to" do follow the teen.