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Key task begins in Ryan trial Who will sit on high-profile case's jury? True or false: We'll have to resort to a bunch of nincompoops, shut-ins or ignoramuses for jurors in ex-Gov. George Ryan's corruption trial because anyone who ever picked up a newspaper, watched the news, or even looked at a driver's license over the past seven years will have heard something about the charges against him. False. In fact, because no one would have much confidence in a jury of the least-engaged members of society, lawyers are likely to be wary of any potential panelists who claim to know nothing, experts say. The process of seating a jury gets under way today in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. "We don't expect jurors to be living in caves," says Nancy Marder, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law and author of the book, "The Jury Process." "Knowing nothing about who the governor is, that would actually be a bad thing." Nor is it necessary to try Ryan, a Republican, by people who have never voted in a party primary, she says. "People take the responsibility (of jury duty) seriously," she says. "People really do try to follow the judge's instructions." In principle, what the judge and lawyers on each side will seek during jury selection will be people who haven't made up their minds, but haven't stuck their heads in the sand, either, Marder says. In reality, the lawyers will be studying the possible panelists for traits that could hurt their side.
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