Alabama: Jury chosen for Gambling Corruption Retrial

Jury chosen for Gambling Corruption Retrial
By JoBeth Davis

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) -
Attorneys in the Alabama gambling corruption retrial have arrived at a jury and four alternates Wednesday evening after three days of questioning 84 potential jurors.

Attorneys had been scolded by U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson earlier in the day for veering into their trial arguments during questioning of the candidates.

Defense attorney Bobby Segall opened his questioning of possibly jurors by saying his client, casino owner Milton McGregor, was not guilty of corruption charges.

McGregor and five other defendants are charged with buying and selling votes for pro-gambling legislation.

Lead prosecutor Kendall Day told jurors that that the defense would point to legal dealings in the past, but used a metaphor about a bank robber making legitimate withdrawals in the past to refute that.

JURY MAKEUP

The gender make-up of the jury is almost identical to that of the last trial. At least ten of the jurors are female and four are male. Two juror responses were inaudible in the media room and therefore are unknown until the start of the trial. At least ten of the jurors reside in Montgomery County.

Occupations represented include state workers, a medical billing technician, retired Navy and at least one juror is unemployed.

Attorneys must return to court at 7:00 a.m. on Thursday. Opening arguments are expected to start following meetings.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. WSFA 12 News contributed to this report.)