Jury selection continues through second day in Taylor Swift groping trial
Jury selection in Taylor Swift’s groping trial has overflowed into Tuesday, when opening statements are expected to begin.
Selection proceedings began in U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday. Administering a 15-page questionnaire and hours of questioning, attorneys for both sides tried to determine who might be biased against either the crossover star or former Denver radio host David Mueller.
Mueller, who went by “Jackson†on his morning show, claims that Swift falsely accused him, defamed him and pressured his employer to fire him after an alleged groping incident at a June 2013 Pepsi Center meet-and-greet.
The disc jockey previously had worked for country music station KYGO and was assigned to work at the concert when he and his girlfriend were allowed to meet Swift in person. He also named Swift’s mother, Andrea Swift, and her radio promotions manager, Frank Bell, in his complaint against the singer and is seeking $3 million in damages.
In her countersuit, Swift claimed that Mueller grabbed her butt when he and his girlfriend came to meet her. She is seeking $1 in damages while holding Mueller responsible and “serving as an example to other women who may resist publicly reliving similar outrageous and humiliating acts,†her lawsuit said.
Swift was in the courtroom Monday listening to the potential jurors as Judge William J. Martinez and lawyers questioned them for four hours, according to the New York Times.
About 60 potential jurors are being considered for the eight-person panel and were asked such things as whether they listened to Swift’s music, watched her videos, read blogs about her, bought her albums or attended her concerts.
They also were asked whether they listened to KYGO or had been fired, inappropriately touched or falsely accused of inappropriately touching someone, according to the Denver Post. Additionally, lawyers tried to determine whether jurors had heard of the high-profile lawsuits or seen the leaked photo in which Mueller appeared to be groping Swift.
Meanwhile, Swift fans lined up around the federal courthouse in downtown Denver on Tuesday, vying for one of the 32 courtroom seats that would allow them to witness the proceedings and potentially see their idol, who is expected to appear during some of the trial.
An overflow room with 75 seats and a closed-circuit television also is available to view the trial, which is expected to last about two weeks. Each option is available to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.
No jurors had been selected on Monday, but several were dismissed, including one who said on the questionnaire that Swift was “petty and dishonest,†the New York Times reported.
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