Testimony expected to begin Tuesday in Everson trial after morning jury selection

Attorneys were unable to conclude jury selection in the sexual abuse trial for former Hawkeye football player Cedric Everson Monday and will continue the proceedings Tuesday morning.

Defense attorney Leon Spies and assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey originally believed the jury selection process would only last for the first day of court proceedings. But due to the publicity of the case, attorneys took extra precaution in questioning potential jurors which made for a longer than standard day of questioning.

To start the day, there were 70 potential jurors in the Johnson County Courthouse. In order to finish the selection process, attorneys need to narrow the number down to 26 potential jurors. From there, each attorney is allowed to strike six people from the pool, narrowing the final number down to 14 - twelve jurors and two alternates.

Potential jurors were chosen at random and brought into a separate courtroom three at a time for individual questioning with both attorneys and Sixth Judicial District Judge Paul Miller. If both attorneys were satisfied after questioning, the potential juror was passed into the group of 26.

At the end of the day Monday, 22 of the necessary 26 had been passed on to potential juror pool. Judge Miller said he expects the selection process to be finished by late morning and attorneys will be able to submit their opening arguments by early afternoon.

Lahey's questions were focused on hypothetical actions of individuals and how the potential jurors felt about those actions. Her questions included whether the potential jurors believe a person to be credible during testimony if they had been intoxicated during an incident and if the potential jurors have an issue with finding someone guilty of sexual abuse if the act was performed while the victim was sleeping.

Spies' questioning focused on potential jurors' views about sexual abuse, race and how they feel about Everson being innocent until proven guilty in court.

Another focus of his questioning was Everson's one time co-defendant Abe Satterfield, who was also accused of sexually assaulting the same woman. Satterfield has since accepted a plea agreement to a lesser assault charge and agreed to testify against Everson in court. Spies asked potential jurors how Satterfield's testimony, as a friend and former teammate, would influence them.

During questioning, there were a handful of women who said they might feel sympathetic toward the alleged victim, but believed they would be able to be impartial once evidence was presented in court.

Miller dismissed three of the potential jurors from the pool during questioning. The reasons for dismissal included a woman who is on probation for a felony conviction, a man who had a non-refundable vacation planned this week, and a man who said his opinion on the case would not allow him to be impartial.

Everson, who was dressed in a blue sweater over a long-sleeved, striped, button down shirt, dark gray slacks and glasses sat next to Spies for the entire questioning process. He did not say one word during the proceedings. The 21-year-old is facing  a second-degree sexual abuse charge after being accused of sexually assaulting a female student athlete in a Hillcrest residence hall dorm room in Oct. 2007.

Potential witnesses in the case who are currently or have formerly been involved with Hawkeye athletics include Kirk Ferentz, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos, Jevon Pugh, Mike Daniels, Lance Tillison, Kachine Alexander, Jenny Schuelke, and Katie Wessels.

Judge Miller told potential jurors Monday morning the case will take all of this week and a significant portion of next week. Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison.