Oregon Standoff Trial Day Two: Looking for a Jury

Even during jury selection in federal court, there can be moments where everyone lets down their guard and laughs for a moment.

It happened during the second day of trying to find a jury to hear the case against seven people charged in connection with the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

Judge Anna Brown was asking a possible juror if he had any ties to the Church of Latter Day Saints or its members as several of the defendants are Mormons.

"I dated a Mormon girl once," the man replied. "God. She's the best kisser I ever had."

That provoked laughter from many in the courtroom including several of the usually more stoic deputy United States Marshals.

There was also laughter when a mother of four from Eugene was asked whether her kids would be okay without her during the course of the expected nine-week trial.

"It might be good for my children," she responded. "They might appreciate me more."

The rest of the day was routine as prosecutors, defense lawyers and the judge continued on their path to find a jury that will be able to hear a case that's expected to continue until just before Thanksgiving.

"I want to be sure we get it right," Judge Brown said in calling it a day just about 6:20.

Before reaching that point, 53 potential jurors were heard from - 25 in the morning and 28 in the afternoon. The sessions were separated by a 20-minute lunch break.

In all, ten jurors were dismissed for various causes. The judge is trying to develop a pool of 62 that will then be winnowed down to 12 jurors and eight alternates.

Among those who were dismissed because of a potential bias was a man whose cousin's husband works for the Bureau of Land Management and a man who said he supports the widow of LaVoy Finicum, the occupier who was killed by state police during a traffic stop that resulted in the arrest of several of the defendants.

Finicum's widow gas said she plans to sue the government over her husband's death.

Some possible jurors were dismissed because serving on the jury would cause some sort of hardship - one man is the primary earner in his family; one woman suffers from dizziness and would be forced to miss medical appointments.

Jury selection continues Friday. The judge hopes to have opening arguments begin on Tuesday.

Photo Multnomah County Sheriff's Office