On the second day of jury selection in his corruption trial, former Governor Rod Blagojevich arrived at the Dirksen Federal Building with wife Patti this morning at 8:45, greeting a couple of supporters before walking briskly through the lobby of the courthouse.
Judge James Zagel had hoped to interview 34 jurors each day, but only got through 29 on Thursday after a late start.
As I wrote yesterday, the crowds were surprisingly sparse, which is a good thing, because there’s not a lot of space in Zagel’s courtroom – only 32 seats for the general public. Why not go bigger? Zagel doesn’t like the setup of the larger ceremonial courtroom down the hall from his on the 25th floor. That courtroom was used during the Family Secrets trial, which he presided over.
Among Zagel’s concerns is that the jury box is too far away from the bench in that courtroom. Because his is an older courtroom, it doesn’t have a built-in camera so that closed-circuit video can be shown in the overflow room for the press. So far, Zagel has decided to only transmit an audio feed, but he has not completely ruled bringing in a camera at a later date.
THE COURTROOM SCENE
There are two rectangular tables in the center of the courtroom. Facing the bench, the prosecution’s table is on the left, defense on the right. The jury box is just to the left of the prosecution table. There are four rows of seating for the general public and media. Patti Blagojevich sat in the first row closest to the defense table. Blagojevich’s brother, Robert, sat with his attorney at another table.
THE CHOPPING BLOCK
Jurors No. 102 and No. 126 won’t make the cut. No. 102 said she worked as a precinct captain to Sandi Jackson, the wife of Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., who has been subpoenaed by the defense*. The woman brought out the heartiest chuckle from the courtroom crowd yesterday when Zagel asked if she had recalled seeing either Rod or Patti Blagojevich on television and she said that she had seen Patti on a reality show, “something about bugs.” The juror was referring to Patti’s appearance on NBC’s “I’m a Celebrity, Get me Out of Here.”
Meanwhile, Zagel took none too kindly to juror No. 126, a 22-year-old man who said he wanted to be an investment banker and that he had consulted with an attorney to figure how to get out of jury duty. Zagel called his behavior a “disgrace.â€
POLITICS
While Republicans and Democrats argue over the trial’s implications for Democrats and Republicans, the local Green Party thinks it will be the real beneficiary. Watching the proceedings Thursday was Tom Tresser, the Green Party candidate for Cook County Board President. Tresser , who was one of the lead organizers for No Games Chicago, a group that opposed the city’s Olympic bid, said he expects his supporters to use the trial as a political rallying ground in the coming weeks, passing fliers outside of Dirksen.
Speed Read:
New York Times: A slow start
Huffington Post: A good day for law
Chicago Tribune: Zorn makes a prediction
Newsweek: The big political question
Fox News: The reverse political question
New York Times: Our take on what’s at stake for the prosecution
*Correction: The original post incorrectly stated that Juror 106 identified herself as a former precinct captain for Ald. Sandi Jackson and would not be selected for the panel. In fact, it was Juror 102 who identified herself that way and was dismissed prior to the trial. Juror 106 remained on the panel.