So, a jury has been sworn in for the trial of Phil Spector over the 2003 fatal shooting of actress Lana Clarkson at his Beverly Hills home. The LA Times reports that six reserve jurors are still to be selected, but with the main group of twelve in place things are on schedule for the trial to kick off next week.
As previously reported, jury selection resumed this week as lawyers for both the prosecution and defence reviewed the 200 potential jurors who had made it through the first stage of the selection process. Spector's legal team requested the dismissal of several of those potentials - two because they had language difficulties, one Hong Kong native who admitted she did not understand the American justice system, one man whose nephew had committed suicide by gunshot, and one woman who said she believed Spector was guilty and that, while she understood the need to be open minded when sitting on a jury, she just couldn't see her being able to change her mind regarding Spector's role in the death of Clarkson.
One of the jurors who made it through to the final twelve is an NBC TV producer who has covered a number of high profile crime cases, and who admitted to already knowing a lot about the Spector case, but who convinced lawyers on both sides that he could keep an open mind.
Spector is, of course, accused of murdering Clarkson, but he claims she shot herself. The final six reserve jurors are due to be selected on Monday, so the trial can begin later next week.