Westerfield Jury Selection Set To Begin

SAN DIEGO -- Jury selection begins Friday for the trail against the man accused of kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

WESTERFIELD TRIAL Judge William Mudd Issues Death Penalty Sentence Hear Jury's Death Penalty Recommendation Watch The Jury's Verdict Being Read Share Your Thoughts DANIELLE VAN DAM 1994-2002 Watch Danielle Video Montage E-mail: daniellevandam @yahoo.com Send mail to: P.O. Box 501515 San Diego, 92150

And there are different guidelines for choosing the jury that will decide David Westerfield's fate than for most other cases, 10News reported.

The trial is expected to last three months, starting some time in early June. That's a major commitment, and many in the jury pool may ask for a hardship exemption, 10News reported.

There is already concern over whether a fair trial can be held in light of the intense glare of publicity. Westerfield's face has been on television screens just about every day for the past three months.

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Different Guidlines For Trial Selection Process Can Be Complicated

As the attorneys prepare to question jurors about their objectivity in hearing the case, there is also the issue of many jurors not being able to commit the time required.

"The court allows me to excuse for hardship for four reasons: financial, medical, student status, or pre-paid vacation. Others are handled by court and attorneys," said acting jury manager Neal Methvin.

Westerfield is potentially facing the death penalty, though, and that ups the stakes. All the hardship declarations will be looked at closely by the judge and the attorneys and some of them will be denied, 10News reported.

From that pool, the jurors will be given questionnaires containing 123 questions, asking about beliefs and attitudes.

The questions range from marital status and what part of town jurors live in, to belief in the death penalty and whether they could stand to view autopsy photos.

For the full list of questions, click here.