The juror leaned into the microphone. The silent courtroom erupted in laughter. Even stoic U.S. District Court Judge Russel Holland cracked a smiled. The nine women and three men include a gold miner, a couple of school custodians, an elementary school secretary, a bookkeeper, a court clerk, a homemaker, an unemployed counselor, a retired factory worker and a McDonald's employee. Most of the jurors are in their 40s or older.
None are Native, two are black, the rest white.
There are no alternate jurors in the case. The trial will get underway Monday with opening statements. Three to four months of testimony will follow. The final 12 were selected from a pool of 105 jurors who filled out a 20- page questionnaire. One by one they came into the court room until there were 24 approved potential jurors.