* Things apparently aren’t going too well for the Blagojevich side with jury selection this morning, according to courtroom journalist Susan Berger. From her Twitter page…
Judge denied removing juror 107. he donated to Children’s Mem hospital. . Patti Blago not happy. Big sigh. Shakes head
blagojevich defense not happy with juror #113 with strong political opinions. Challenge denied
Juror 125 said he thinks blago guilty. Blago looks at patti and shakes his head as arguments pro and con made
Juror #125 stays. Patti clearly upset. Juror said Blago guilty but will have open mind
ADDED: The Gov looked a little worried at the break after some juror challenges denied. Keeps tapping foot furiously while writing
The defense, meanwhile, targeted would-be jurors who harbored negative feelings about politicians, including juror No. 125, who said Blagojevich seemed guilty.
The judge denied four such challenges on the grounds that the jurors had affirmed their ability to set aside existing notions of Blagojevich’s innocence or guilt.
Each side was able to secure one disputed dismissal. The prosecution objected to a former precinct captain for a Democratic political candidate, while the defense objected to a former certified public accountant whose cousin is a judge.
As we wait in the empty courtroom, Rod is flirting with the courtroom artists. He’s smiling and trying to charm them from the defendant’s table as they stare at him to sketch. In minutes, he’s laughing and they appear charmed.
“That’s why he won the governorship,” Sam Adam Sr. says, laughing.
“Yesterday was a good beginning,” said Rod Blagojevich as he entered the courthouse for day two of his federal corruption trial. The former governor faces 24 counts including racketeering, mail fraud and attempted extortion for trying to sell Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat.
He called the legal ordeal he and his wife have endured “a Kafkaesque story” and insisted, “if we get a fair trial, I believe I will be vindicated.”
The ex-governor also took time to praise Federal Court Judge James Zagel saying he was “profoundly impressed with his deliberative approach.”
Inside the courtroom, the second day of jury selection saw 9 of the original 29 prospective jurors bounced after one side or the other challenged them for cause. One of the bounced jury candidates was a woman who expressed some religious convictions that precluded her from judging others. Judge Zagel announced he would delay ruling on another of the potential jurors saying he was a “tough call” because the juror provided as little information as possible during questioning.
Among the 8 prospective jurors questioned before the lunch break today was a Japanese-American man who was born during World War II in a U.S. internment center.
Camp Manzanar was one of ten internment camps where Japanese American citizens and resident Japanese aliens were held during World War II.
Another candidate for the jury was a middle-aged man who works for the Department of Homeland Security at O’Hare Airport.
Breslin, who authored the novel, “The Gang that Couldn’t Shoot Straight,” which turned into a movie starring Robert De Niro, said he has already violated one of the cardinal tenets of criminal justice and political reporting – meeting the family of the subject you are writing about.
“I wanted to jump in front of a bus,” Breslin said. “I am breaking the law here.”
“But I was walking around with them and she’s a delightful woman,” he said. “But nothing has agitated her. She’s not that steel-wire political woman you think of. She is a lovely housewife with two kids.”
Mrs. Blagojevich is quite impressive. I spent some time with her and came away with quite a bit of respect for her. But she’s also her father’s daughter, raised on politics. She has a “steel wire” in her and she’s definitely not just a housewife and mother, although she does appear to be a good mom.
* Blago circus starts: On what arguably should have been the worst day of their lives — the start of his public corruption trial — Rod and Patti Blagojevich kept on smiling.
* Jurors by the numbers in Blagojevich trial: Most said they rarely read a newspaper or watched the TV news on TV. Some indicated they wouldn’t have known who the governor was if he and his wife hadn’t appeared on reality TV shows. That made the governor and his wife, Patti, laugh.
