Legal expert weighs in ahead of jury selection in deadly MAX stabbing trial

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    PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — Jury selection begins Tuesday in the trial of Jeremy Christian, the man accused of stabbing three men on a Portland MAX train, killing two of them.

Ricky Best and Taliesin Namkai-Meche died in the 2017 attack, which drew national and international attention. Micah Fletcher was seriously hurt.

Investigators say the men tried to intervene when Christian yelled racial slurs at two teenage girls on the train. One teen was African American and the other was Muslim and wearing a hijab.

FOX 12 spoke with legal expert John Henry Hingson to get his perspective on what to watch for as the trial unfolds. Hingson is a criminal defense lawyer in Oregon City who is not connected with the Christian case. But, like most people in the area, he is familiar with it.

He says this is the central question:

“This is not a who-dunnit,” Hingson said. “There is video evidence of this defendant doing the crimes. This is a case of why-dunnit. It’s all mental.”

So, when it comes to finding impartial jurors, he says it may be okay for someone to know about the case, as long as they have an open mind to whatever the state and the defense may present about Christian’s state-of-mind at the time.

In court filings from last year, Christian’s defense team indicated they may pursue a range of defenses including “mental disease or defect,” “partial or diminished responsibility” or “extreme emotional disturbance.”

But remember:

“Lawyers do not select a jury,” Hingson said. “They are only authorized to de-select people.”

Hingson says it’s likely the defense will bring in some kind of psychological or psychiatric evidence to support their claim.

But could we see Christian himself take the stand? Hingson says it’s always possible.

“A defendant can overrule a lawyer’s advice and testify even when the lawyer says don’t do it, and often times that results in disastrous results,” Hingson said. “But, having said that, the question always has to be asked, ‘what good does it do to have this person testify?’”

A judge recently ruled the Jury will travel to see a MAX train like the one where the 2017 stabbing attack happened, but not the actual car involved. Christian will not be allowed to accompany them on the trip.

The judge is still considering whether to allow the jury to see a video taken the day before the attack. Prosecutors say it shows Christian yelling slurs, calling out Christians, Muslims and Jews, and threatening to stab people. They argue it shows his intent.

But, the defense argues, it doesn’t show intent, saying he can’t be singling people out since he named most of the people in the U.S.

Due to recent changes in death penalty law in Oregon, Christian is not facing the death penalty. If convicted, the maximum sentence he could get is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

FOX 12 will be in the courtroom as jury selection begins Tuesday and will have continuing coverage throughout the trial.

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