JACKSON - The arduous process of jury selection in the federal judicial bribery case involving a Mississippi Supreme Court justice continued into its fourth day Thursday as the list of the first 100 potential jurors was whittled away.
At least half of the prospective jurors questioned so far have been excused from the case involving Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., Gulf Coast Attorney Paul Minor and two former lower-court judges.
Minor is accused of buying favorable decisions from Diaz, former Circuit Judge John Whitfield and former Chancery Judge Wes Teel. Prosecutors have alleged, among other violations, that Minor guaranteed a loan for approximately $75,000 and provided checks and cash to Diaz.
All have pleaded innocent to charges of racketeering, bribery and fraud.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate has said he would call in 50 more potential jurors for questioning, likely today.
The court has had an extra group of 100 on standby in case a jury can't be selected from the initial pool. Potential jurors have represented a cross-section of Mississippians, from a kindergarten teacher to a court administrator from Lexington.
Prosecutors have declined to comment on the jury selection process.
Robert McDuff, Diaz's attorney, has said the jury selection process has been thorough.
"We look forward to the final selection of the jury and to get under way with the trial," he has said.
Defense attorneys have claimed the trial is based on partisan politics and a personal vendetta by a U.S. attorney who guided a grand jury to indict Minor and the other defendants.
Prosecutors have maintained throughout the case that the charges are not political. They say Minor and the other defendants were involved in a lucrative scheme that netted Minor hundreds of thousands of dollars in attorney's fees from cases before three different judges.
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