Juror selection unusual as Phil Spector's hair

By Stone Martindale Apr 22, 2007, 2:08 GMT

Music producer Phil Spector (R) leaves a Los Angeles courthouse after jury selection began in his murder trial, with his wife Rachelle Short. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

 Phil Spector's attorney's are preparing for the next big celebrity trial, and the Los Angeles Times reports that one of the jurors chosen for the Phil Spector trial is a "Dateline NBC" producer who covered the O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson court spectacles, and "had been researching the music producer's murder case for several months.

The LAT got hold of a juror questionnaire released by the court on Friday, which revealed that the producer said that his personal expertise included "covering high-profile trials [I have covered Simpson, Jackson and worked on many others]."

The juror producer also wrote that "for several months, I have been assigned to this case for NBC News as a senior producer," and noted that he had access to "numerous court documents in the case."

The LAT asked Dallas jury consultant Robert Hirschhorn about the wisdom of having a producer so familiar with the case on the jury, Hirschhorn told the LAT it was "a risky move" for defense lawyers, but one that could potentially "pay off."

"If he's not doing it to advance his career, he could be the best juror. With so much knowledge and experience, he will be persuasive and will bend over backward to be fair to Spector — as long as he's not coming in with an agenda," Hirschhorn said to the LAT.

Hirschhorn told the LAT that the producer will be "the de facto foreman if not the in-fact foreman."

Spector's jury so far consists of a panel of nine men and three women from a mix of professional and blue collar fields.

Spector is going to trial over the 2003 murder of Lana Clarkson, shot through the mouth. The actress was found dead in his Alhambra mansion after accompanying him home from the House of Blues on Sunset where she worked as a hostess.

The producer also listed as part of his employment history freelance work, including the Los Angeles Times.

The producer juror met "as a journalist" HBO's resident Autopsy documentarian, Dr. Michael Baden, a forensics expert who is working with one of Spector's lawyers, his wife Linda Kenney Baden.

Judge Larry Paul Fidler is overseeing the trial for Spector.  The LAT reports none of the 12 jurors - the youngest juror is 32, the oldest 60 -  average age 48 - in the case are Spector fans.