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LAS VEGAS - Prosecutors and defense lawyers are vying for an edge as they try to shape a jury that will decide whether O.J. Simpson and a friend robbed two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room a year ago.<br><br>Jury selection was to resume Wednesday. Twenty people have been dismissed after two days of questioning and no jurors have been seated so far.<br><br>Twelve people have advanced through personal questioning by both sides to remain in consideration for what will be a pool of 40, from which the prosecution and defense each will be allowed to eliminate 11.<br><br>A New York defense lawyer who has been following the case since the alleged armed robbery last September termed the jockeying between prosecutors and defense lawyers to seat favorable jurors an elemental, if incremental, part of the trial.<br><br>"Jury selection is very, very important. You can only make one first impression," said Michael Shapiro, who characterized the process as "speed dating" between lawyers and prospective jurors.<br><br>The two days of jury selection have been dominated by questions about the celebrity of the 61-year-old former football star, actor and advertising pitchman, his acquittal in the 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, and about the racial makeup of the jury.<br><br>Charles D. Jones, lawyer for co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart, reminded several prospective jurors that the case involved two men. "You realize this is one trial, but there are two defendants," Jones said.<br><br>Simpson and Stewart, 54, each face 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon for allegedly stealing items at gunpoint from two sports memorabilia dealers.<br><br>Both men have pleaded not guilty. Each could face mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery. A kidnapping conviction carries the possibility of life in prison with the possibility of parole.<br><br>The trial could cost the county up to $250,000 if it runs through Oct. 17 as scheduled and jurors are sequestered, court spokesman Michael Sommermeyer said. He had no cost estimate for security.<br><br>___<br><br>Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.<br><br>