A Houston dentist accused of killing her husband will spend the next few weeks in a Harris County courtroom, where jurors will determine whether she purposely or accidentally ran him down with her Mercedes Benz in a hotel parking lot.

Clara Harris, 44, is charged with murdering her orthodontist husband, David Harris, 44, on the night of July 24 after a confrontation with him and his alleged mistress in the lobby of the Hilton Nasa Clear Lake, Nasa Road 1, in Nassau Bay.

A panel of 120 potential jurors in the case gathered in State District Judge Carol Davies' courtroom Tuesday, where prosecutors and defense attorneys will narrow the panel down to 12 jurors and two alternates.

"Even though many of you (jurors) have strong feelings about the crime committed, you have to be able to put those feelings aside and listen to the testimony before casting judgment," Judge Davies said.

"The burden of proof is on the state," Davies said. "They have to convince you she knowingly and intentionally killed her husband beyond a reasonable doubt."

Some of the jurors pooled Tuesday said that they would have a problem giving Clara Harris a fair trial.

"If (Clara Harris) chooses not to testify, you cannot hold it against her," Davies said.

However, three jurors said that they could not do that if she did not testify and would think that she was guilty.

Jurors selected to hear the case must decide if Clara Harris intentionally ran over her husband, or if 44-year-old David Harris' death was an accident, as Clara Harris has said.

Davies told jurors that they could sentence Harris from two to 20 years, if they find "sudden passion."

Sudden passion is defined as the following:

• Accused was provoked by the victim
• Crime happened at the time of the offense
• Provocation made an ordinary person so enraged that they were incapable of cool reflection

"The defense wants women on the jury. They want ladies who can understand a woman in that situation of jilted love, heartbreak, and uncontrollable emotion," said Chip Lewis, a former prosecutor. "The real job to do is to sort out enough people that don't have such a preconceived notion that they've already got a verdict in mind whether it's guilty or not guilty."

Defense attorney George Parnham told News2Houston that he hopes the jury keeps an open mind until all of the evidence is in.

"The challenge is going to be to try to have the jury understand (and) to literally crawl inside the mind of Clara Harris," Parnham said.

Legal experts said that hoping the jury keeps an open mind would be a tough sell for the defense.

"He needs to be able to give a jury reason to doubt that the killing was intentional or knowing and for no justifiable reason," legal expert Jack Zimmerman said.

The judge hopes to have a jury panel seated by Thursday morning.

If convicted, she could face up to life in prison. Jurors could also sentence her to probation if they find that she has a clean background with no prior criminal history.

Jurors are expected to view a videotape taken in the hotel's parking lot by a private investigator Clara Harris had hired to follow her husband.

Testimony also is expected from Lindsey Harris, Clara Harris' 17-year-old stepdaughter. She was a passenger in the car when David Harris was struck and killed.

Parnham said Clara Harris learned her husband was having an affair a week before finding him at the hotel with Gail Bridges, a divorced mother of three who once worked in David Harris' orthodontics office.

Parnham said Clara Harris didn't set out to kill the night she struck her husband, but instead to "bring David home." Parnham said Clara Harris wanted to save her marriage and family.

Lindsey Harris could be the most pivotal witness for jurors who will have to determine Harris' intent as she drove toward the Lincoln Navigator her husband and Bridges were entering following the physical altercation between the trio in the hotel's lobby.

Prosecutors said last week that Lindsey Harris is prepared to testify that an hour before her father was struck by her stepmother, Clara Harris told her: "I could kill him and get away with it for all he's put me through."