Jury selection underway in Everson trial

IOWA CITY - Jury selection for former Hawkeye football player Cedric Everson is currently underway after beginning Monday morning. Everson is facing a charge of second-degree sexual abuse.

Attorneys for both parties believed the selection process will to take up most or all of the first day of court proceedings. It now appears the process will likely continue on to a second day. Due to the publicity of the case, the attorneys are taking extra precaution in questioning potential jurors.

Of the 70 people in the jury pool, 26 have been chosen to go through individual questioning, which has been underway since 9 a.m. After jury selection had been halted for a lunch recess, nine of the 26 had been questioned. Defense attorney Leon Spies, assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey and Sixth Judicial District Judge Paul Miller are taking groups of three into a separate courtroom to interview the potential jurors individually.

Lahey's questions have been focused on hypothetical actions of individuals and how the potential jurors feel about those actions. Her questions have 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 has 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 has been about 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 if Satterfield's testimony, as a friend and former teammate, would influence them.

After the morning's questioning, there were a few women who said they might feel sympathetic toward the female victim, but believed they would be able to be impartial once evidence was presented in court.

Miller dismissed one of the potential jurors from the pool after he told Miller he would not be able to exclude his personal opinions about the case and be impartial during trial.

Everson, 21, is facing the 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.

Judge Paul 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.