300 people added to list of potential jurors; will answer questions today

By Peggy Lowe, Rocky Mountain News
August 30, 2004

EAGLE - Three hundred more Eagle County residents will be added to the potential jury pool for the Kobe Bryant rape case today, thanks to the resolution of a different case.

The 300 people who received a summons for a civil case before another judge will today be asked to fill out the same 82-question form that some 300 others called for the Bryant case responded to last Friday.

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The civil case before 5th District Judge Richard H. Hart was settled last week, so the 300 people scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. today will instead fill out the questionnaire drawn up for the Bryant case, Karen Salaz, a court spokeswoman, said Sunday evening.

"The call had already been issued. The people are already coming in," she said. "Everything was in place and they felt they didn't have anything to lose."

So those 300 people will be added to the potential pool Bryant's attorneys and prosecutors worked on over the weekend, paring it down in an attempt to reach a more manageable number to be questioned in court this week. The official questionnaire will be released to the media this morning.

The lawyers huddled with Chief District Judge Terry Ruckriegle on Sunday, entering the Eagle County Justice Center in casual clothes and carrying boxes. They worked into the night, sorting jurors by their responses to the questionnaires that quizzed them on their feelings about race, sexual assault and adultery.

About 25 to 30 Eagle County residents who filled out the questionnaire last week will appear at 8:30 this morning to be questioned, one at a time, in a courtroom closed to all except the judge and attorneys. The same process is planned for Tuesday and Wednesday as well.

But first, Ruckriegle will hold a 7:30 a.m. hearing today with media attorneys who are fighting the secret questioning. Because of the large numbers of people called for service - and the small courtrooms at the Eagle County Justice Center - the judge said the public and media would not be allowed in the courtroom for the proceedings.

But in a motion filed last week, lawyers for the media said that violates the First Amendment. A peeved Ruckriegle scheduled the meeting late Friday, complaining in writing about the motion being filed at such a late date.

Bryant also will be back in court today. His security guards were seen this weekend cruising around the courthouse in two SUVs.

The 300 people who filled out the forms last week were told to call a courthouse number on Sunday night to learn if they were to return.

In a version of the questionnaire obtained by News 4 last week, the jurors were asked if marital infidelity had ever affected them, if anyone they knew had been sexually assaulted, if they had ever had a negative experience with an African-American, and if they believed that rich people are treated better by the court system.

David Lugert, an Eagle criminal defense attorney, said prosecutors will be looking for people who make tough decisions every day, such as executives, managers or pilots. Prosecutors need people who believe in accountability, are pro-government and who have experienced a loss so they have empathy for the victim.

The defense, on the other hand, will be looking for sociologists, psychologists, nurses and school teachers with young children. They will want people who agonize over decisions and tend to sympathize and explain away misbehavior.

"You actually de-select a jury, you don't select it," Lugert said. "You get the luck of the draw and you de-select the juror with the worst profile."

The jury

• 300 - The number of potential jurors added to the pool after the conclusion of a civil case before Fifth District Judge Richard H. Hart.

• 4 or 5 - Number of potential jurors court officials hope to question per hour beginning today.

• "The magic number" - What court officials call the undetermined number of potential jurors who survive the selection process and will finally be questioned in open court, probably on Thursday.

Copyright 2004, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.