R. Kelly trial blog May 12: Jury selection in gear

9:36 PM EDT, May 12, 2008

R. Kelly arrives at the Cook County Criminal Courts Building on Monday for the second day of his child pornography trial. (Tribune photo by Michael Tercha / May 12, 2008)

After almost nine hours of jury selection Monday, three people have been picked to serve on the R. Kelly trial. Thirteen others were dismissed by the judge, defense or prosecution.

The prosecution struck three potential jurors, two black and one white, prompting defense attorneys to accuse them of intentionally striking minorities from the jury pool.

The judge, though, rejected the defense's contentions.

The defense struck only one potential juror.

Each side gets seven peremptory strikes, meaning they can strike them as jurors without giving a reason.

Jury selection resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

The three jurors selected so far are a pastor's wife, a father with two young children and a middle-age black man who describes himself as a Christian.

Those dismissed by the judge include a black male likely in his 50s who said his 5-year-old granddaughter had been sexually molested by a relative. He admitted to lawyers and the judge that the experience would affect his ability to judge the R&B singer in a case involving child pornography.

The judge also dismissed a middle-age white man who wrote on a jury questionnaire that he had problems with the age of consent for sex. Following up on his statement during questioning, lead prosecutor Shauna Boliker asked him to elaborate. He responded: "My son told me nature already has provided an age of consent: puberty."

Prosecutors dismissed a black female postal worker in her 20s or 30s who said she had read news accounts of the Kelly case and had discussed it with her friends and co-workers at the post office. She admitted she was nervous about serving on the high-profile trial.

Asked about what she had heard of Kelly, she said she heard the musician was known as the "pied piper" for his musical ballads and was regarded as a "musical genius."

As for the negatives, she said she heard he doesn't get along with rapper Jay-Z.

Another potential juror who seemed a bit star-struck was also knocked from the list. That candidate, a white man in his 50s, indicated he might favor Kelly during the trial because he's a celebrity.

"I hope I can weigh the facts and not judge him as a celebrity," he said.

The man offered to alter his current vacation plans to visit his parents over Memorial Day if he was selected for the jury.

"This is something really important," he said.

The defense dismissed a Chicago Public Schools security guard who offered some strong opinions. Among them: "No early release for prisoners because of overcrowding; prisoners should be put to work while serving time; and gangs are terrorists."

Azam Ahmed

6:10 PM: Nuptials trump jury duty

Seven of 20 potential jurors being interviewed today have been dismissed from serving on the R. Kelly trial.