Upscale, well-educated jury pool called for Kobe trial

[KoriEllis]

Upscale, well-educated jury pool called for Kobe trial
Aug. 23, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports

DENVER -- Residents of Eagle County are a diverse lot -- 23 percent Hispanic, 0.3 percent black. Forty-three percent of them are college graduates. And attorneys in the Kobe Bryant rape case would love to know what they are thinking right now.

Summonses went out last month ordering 999 potential jurors from the county to show up for duty this Friday, with opening statements not expected until Sept. 7.

So, how to find an impartial jury in a case that has been in the news for more than a year and included headlines about the accuser's sex life and Bryant's hospital exam?

Jury consultant Joseph Rice of the Jury Research Ins ute in Walnut Creek, Calif., said some jurors may be so turned off by the tawdry details they won't know who to blame and may try to apply their own values to the case. Prosecutors and defense attorneys will try to eliminate those candidates before the trial begins.

"Some may want to blame Kobe and say it must be rape because a normal person wouldn't do this," Rice said. "Others might say 'Look at her, she asked for it.' This trial has layers upon layer of issues."

If convicted of felony sexual assault, Bryant, 26, faces four years to life in prison or 20 years to life on probation, and a fine up to $750,000. The Los Angeles Lakers star has said he had consensual sex with the woman, then 19, at a Vail-area resort last year.

Eagle County residents mirror the nation in some respects: The population is 74.2 percent white, just ahead of the national figure of 69.1 percent, and it is 45.2 percent female (50.9 percent nationally).

But they are better educated than the general public (only 24.4 percent of the U.S. population holds at least a bachelor's degree) and the county's median household income is nearly $62,700 ($42,000 nationally). They have a median age of 31.

Idgi D'Andrea, a jury consultant for Bonora D'Andrea of San Francisco, said recent missteps in the case may force the judge to allow more questioning of potential jurors.

Among the mistakes: Courthouse staff have twice posted the accuser's name on a state court Web site and the judge lost a battle with the media and released nearly 200 pages of do ents from a closed hearing on the woman's sexual activities.

"It's really hard to unring the bell, once that bell has been rung, and ask people to forget what they've heard," D'Andrea said.

Both sides are expected to see if potential jurors are prejudiced because Bryant is black and the alleged victim is white and whether they think a rich basketball player thought he didn't have to play by the rules.

[ducks]

let the trial begin

[2Cleva]

It looks that way but then again Voldemort's lawyer's keep sending out mix signals.

"Clune said there still is the slight possibility that the woman won't go forward, but Clune did not want to elaborate on what could lead to that decision."

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All that really means is "Show me the money!"