Juror Number Seven, How Often Do You Watch "The O'Reilly Factor"?
That selection process has begun today and the AP has been providing a look at the kinds of questions potential jurors are being asked. The AP explains that lawyers would like to determine potential jurors' "opinions of the Bush administration, political scandals and the Iraq war." (In other words, it's kind of like a night out at Hawk and Dove.)
Both the defense and the prosecution are particularly interested in jurors' media consuming habits. The AP writes that "Libby's lawyers argued in court papers filed this morning that they wanted to press members of the jury pool on how closely they had followed news coverage and prosecutors' statements, and 'probe whether that exposure has affected their ability to impartially judge the facts in this case.'"
As for Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, his list includes "questions about what newspapers and magazines jurors read and where they get their news."
Why would Fitzgerald like to know where jurors are getting their news?
CBS News Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen told us in an e-mail that it isn't uncommon for potential jurors to be asked questions about their media habits because the information really does provide insight into the people at hand.
"If I'm a lawyer in any sort of a high-profile case, but especially one that touches upon politics, I want to know whether my jurors, say, listen to NPR or watch Fox News because I can then make assumptions about what sorts of jurors they are — how they view the world and which set of biases and perspectives they allow to filter their news for them. The questions are perfectly legitimate and the answers are telling and that's a good combination for jury selection."
As for the trial's judge, Reggie Walton, he has prohibited jurors from "reading newspapers, watching TV news or listening to the radio. He said court officials would screen newspapers and provide jurors with edited copies to read."