After a day of jury selection, a federal court in Tuscaloosa has chosen the 12 jurors and two alternates who will decide the guilt or innocence of Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford.
Once struck, the jury consisted of two white men, eight white women, one black man and three black women.
U.S.District Judge L. Scott Coogler and lawyers from both sides spent most of the day Monday questioning the pool of about 60 potential jurors. In particular, the court focused on media exposure and the influence friends and family might have on the case.
Among the potential jurors, a husband and wife had been summoned to appear for jury duty. Judge Coogler said that in his entire career, he had never heard of that happening before. Neither of the couple made it on to the jury.
Defense lawyers questioned the potential jurors about their attitudes toward gambling. More than half of the members said they had been in a casino or bingo parlor in the last five years.
Defense lawyers also asked potential jurors their attitudes toward alcohol, their experiences with law enforcement and whether they watched Fox News. Langford has worked for Birmingham Budweiser, a beer distributor. Langford is a Democrat, as are two prosecution witnesses, Bill Blount and Al LaPierre, who had been Langford's co-defendants.
Both sides read lists of potential witnesses to the jurors, with some interesting names among them.
The prosecution's witness list included:
• Bettye Fine Collins, President of the Jefferson County Commission;
• Shelia Smoot, Jefferson County Commissioner;
• Karen Cope, a former Colonial Bank employee who helped Bill Blount arrange loans to Langford;
• Norm Davis, former financial advisor to Jefferson County;
• Eileen Foley; a former employee of JP Morgan;
• Charles LeCroy, a former JP Morgan banker involved in Jefferson County bond deals and pleaded guilty to corruption charges in Philadelphia;
• Pat Lynch, Langford's boss at Birmingham Budweiser;
• Ron Moore, Moore Oil Company;
• Gary White, former Jefferson County Commission awaiting retrial on public corruption charges.
Potential defense witnesses included:
• Deborah Vance-Bowie, Langford's chief of staff;
• Chris Hartsell, Langford's chief of operations;
• Charles McCrary, CEO of Alabama Power;
• Ann Florie, executive director of Leadership Birmingham;
Opening arguments will begin Tuesday morning when court reconvenes at 9 a.m.
Once struck, the jury consisted of two white men, eight white women, one black man and three black women.
U.S.District Judge L. Scott Coogler and lawyers from both sides spent most of the day Monday questioning the pool of about 60 potential jurors. In particular, the court focused on media exposure and the influence friends and family might have on the case.
Among the potential jurors, a husband and wife had been summoned to appear for jury duty. Judge Coogler said that in his entire career, he had never heard of that happening before. Neither of the couple made it on to the jury.
Defense lawyers questioned the potential jurors about their attitudes toward gambling. More than half of the members said they had been in a casino or bingo parlor in the last five years.
Defense lawyers also asked potential jurors their attitudes toward alcohol, their experiences with law enforcement and whether they watched Fox News. Langford has worked for Birmingham Budweiser, a beer distributor. Langford is a Democrat, as are two prosecution witnesses, Bill Blount and Al LaPierre, who had been Langford's co-defendants.
Both sides read lists of potential witnesses to the jurors, with some interesting names among them.
The prosecution's witness list included:
• Bettye Fine Collins, President of the Jefferson County Commission;
• Shelia Smoot, Jefferson County Commissioner;
• Karen Cope, a former Colonial Bank employee who helped Bill Blount arrange loans to Langford;
• Norm Davis, former financial advisor to Jefferson County;
• Eileen Foley; a former employee of JP Morgan;
• Charles LeCroy, a former JP Morgan banker involved in Jefferson County bond deals and pleaded guilty to corruption charges in Philadelphia;
• Pat Lynch, Langford's boss at Birmingham Budweiser;
• Ron Moore, Moore Oil Company;
• Gary White, former Jefferson County Commission awaiting retrial on public corruption charges.
Potential defense witnesses included:
• Deborah Vance-Bowie, Langford's chief of staff;
• Chris Hartsell, Langford's chief of operations;
• Charles McCrary, CEO of Alabama Power;
• Ann Florie, executive director of Leadership Birmingham;
Opening arguments will begin Tuesday morning when court reconvenes at 9 a.m.
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