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Jury selection in the Marissa Alexander case will begin a week ahead of her trial in July in Jacksonville.

Circuit Judge James Daniel said Wednesday he planned to start interviewing jurors July 21. The trial is scheduled to begin July 28.

Usually the start of a trial is when jury selection begins. But Daniel said he wanted to pick the jury the week before and be ready to go with opening statements July 28.

Daniel also said he was leaning against sequestering the jury but hadnt made a final decision. Attorneys for the prosecution and defense both told Daniel they preferred not to sequester the jurors.

Alexander, 33, is out on bond while awaiting a new trial on charges of firing a gun at her estranged husband and his two children. She was previously convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 20 years in prison, but that conviction was thrown out on appeal.

She could face 60 years in prison if shes convicted again. The case has generated international attention.

Daniel also set a hearing for May 16 to decide whether he was going to allow another Stand Your Ground hearing in the case.

It will be the second time Alexander seeks immunity from prosecution under the states Stand Your Ground law, which allows the use of deadly force instead of retreating if the person is afraid for his or her life. A claim in July 2011 was rejected.

Daniel indicated Wednesday he wasnt sure if he would allow a second Stand Your Ground hearing but acknowledged he had not yet read the filings by Alexanders lawyers.

The new Stand Your Ground motion, filed last month by attorney Bruce Zimet, argues that there is critical new information that wasnt heard in the original Stand Your Ground hearing. It also says the information presented at the original hearing was at best grossly incomplete.

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Jury selection in Marissa Alexander case scheduled for July 21; Stand Your Ground still being considered

Stand Your Ground Law to blame for Trayvon Martins death2677

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Stand Your Ground Law to blame for Trayvon Martins death2677 - Video

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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) An appeals court Friday ruled that a correctional officer can use the states controversial stand your ground law in a case stemming from an altercation with an inmate.

Correctional officer Brad Heilman was charged with aggravated battery after an inmate was injured in an incident at Lake Correctional Institution.

A three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal sided with Heilman Friday.

A circuit judge found that Heilman could not use the stand your ground law in defense because of another state law that deals with circumstances when correctional officers can use force. But Fridays seven-page opinion, written by appeals-court Judge Thomas Sawaya and joined by judges William Palmer and Wendy Berger, concluded that the Legislature intended for the stand your ground law to apply to correctional officers and sent the case back to circuit court.

The stand your ground law says people can use deadly force and do not have a duty to retreat if they think it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. The law offers criminal and civil immunity in such cases.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.

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Court: Prison Guard Can Use Stand Your Ground

The parents of Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin called for the repeal of Stand Your Ground during a hearing Tuesday in Washington before a human rights commission.

Davis and Martin were both teenagers killed in Florida. Their parents blamed the law for creating a culture of lawlessness even though Stand Your Ground wasnt specifically cited in the trials of the men who shot their children.

Sybrina Fulton, mother of Martin, said the law has created fear that black teenagers will be shot when theyre doing nothing wrong.

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Our teenagers have no clue what to do, Fulton said. Theyre afraid of being perceived as criminals when theyre not.

Her son was simply walking home from a convenience store, and he was shot, Fulton said.

An unarmed Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford by George Zimmerman after the Neighborhood Watch member became suspicious and started following him. Zimmerman was acquitted on the basis of self-defense.

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Parents of Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin testify against Stand Your Ground law in Washington, D.C.

As weve seen especially since the infamous George Zimmerman court ruling court cases concerning the Stand Your Ground law tend to draw a considerable amount of media attention. One Florida lawmaker is determined to change that.

According to the Huffington Post, earlier this month, state Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, filed an amendment that would, as Tampa Bay Times writer Michael van Sickler wrote, severely limit access to court records in the self-defense cases. Those found innocent in self-defense cases in which Stand Your Ground was employed would be able to apply for a certificate of eligibility to expunge the associated criminal history record.

While Gaetz purports the amendment to be a measure that would protect those found innocent from being placed under media scrutiny, the implication that reporters would lose access to public records has ignited anger among journalists.

Many believe the amendment has been brought to the table as a result of an extensive Tampa Bay Times review in 2012 of 200 self-defense cases that involved Stand Your Ground. The investigation found that the law was being interpreted in different ways and applied inconsistently. In an ideal world, the report would spark policy change regarding how the law can be used in self-defense cases not as the inspiration for an amendment that would limit access from court and arrest records.

Gaetz told The Associated Press the amendment was unrelated to the Times investigation.

While its true the mainstream American media has the ability to and occasionally do unfairly scrutinize citizens in controversial court cases, prohibiting journalists from acquiring public records is not something a democratic government should consider. The medias watchdog function would be severely infringed upon; and not to speculate, but the passage of an amendment limiting journalists rights in this particular case could lead to legislation that limits their rights in other cases.

Stand Your Ground, weve seen, has been an open can of worms from the start. Newspapers have rightfully called attention to the laws unintended consequences as a go-to tactic in self-defense cases.

And its no surprise that Gaetz is championing the amendment. Hes a well-known proponent of the Stand Your Ground law. Last year, he told the Tampa Bay Times, after being appointed chair of a hearing on the laws unintended consequences, I dont support changing one damn comma.

Changes, however, are crucial.

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board wrote last year that the law has let scores of people escape punishment who started fights and then shot their unarmed opponents, because the shooters said they felt their lives were in danger.

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Standing Our Ground: Media needs access