Simpson judge OKs jury prospects who admit bias

O.J. talks off-camera to CNN

SANTA MONICA, California (CNN) -- The pool of prospective jurors in the O.J. Simpson civil trial split along racial lines Tuesday, with whites saying Simpson was probably guilty of murder and African-Americans saying he is innocent.

While not commenting on the racial aspects of jury selection, Simpson told CNN legal analyst Roger Cossack on Tuesday that the slow pace of the process was not upsetting. "He said ... it wasn't half as bad as it was in the criminal trial because at least every night he gets to go home," Cossack said. (21 sec./231K AIFF or WAV sound)

Simpson was jailed during his murder trial, which ended last October with his acquittal in the 1994 deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. The families of the victims are suing Simpson for wrongful death.

Simpson says he's broke

Simpson wouldn't discuss facts of the case, citing a gag order brought by the plaintiffs. But he did suggest the families would be unable to collect monetary damages from him because he didn't have any money left to give.

The brief interview was not recorded. Simpson approached Cossack on Tuesday before the afternoon session of jury selection began.

Among those joining the pool of prospective jurors Tuesday:

• A white woman who said it could be a struggle for her to overcome her preconceived notion that Simpson is a wife batterer and double-murderer. Simpson bowed his head in an apparent gesture of disbelief when Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki told her to come back for the final phase of jury selection.
  
  
  
• A white man who compared expert witnesses, including Simpson's own star scientist Henry Lee, with prostitutes who'll say and do anything for money. The man said he was inclined to believe Simpson is guilty.
  
  
  
• A black man who said he tended to believe Simpson was innocent, that the Los Angeles Police Department "jumped to conclusions" in suspecting Simpson early on, and that there was "something wrong" with the evidence.
  
  
  
• An Asian woman who said she probably wouldn't want Simpson as a husband or even friend because of his alleged physical abuse of his former wife. She declared Simpson "probably guilty."
  
  
  
• A female Time magazine reporter in her 40s who said she didn't cover Simpson's criminal trial but did contribute to an article by interviewing sports agents after the verdict to assess Simpson's post-trial marketability. She said she considers Simpson "probably guilty."
  
  
  

In all, 17 jurors have passed the phases to weed people out for hardship and bias from media reports. Fujisaki will seat a final panel of 12 jurors and eight alternates.

The jury selection process was to continue Wednesday.

Unlike the criminal trial, there will be no sequestration.

Correspondent Greg Lamotte and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

• Simpson makes first appearance at civil trial - September 20, 1996
• Simpson must hand over key videotape in civil trial - September 19, 1996
• Judge has no-excuses attitude in picking Simpson jurors - September 18, 1996
• Simpson civil trial convenes Tuesday - September 16, 1996
• O.J. Simpson scheduled to appear in two courts - September 12, 1996
• Simpson judge gets tough at civil trial - September 4,1996
• Media challenge gag order on Simpson civil trial - August 31, 1996
• O.J. Simpson rips media at D.C. appearance - August 29, 1996

Related sites:

• CNN Interactive's O.J. Simpson main page
• Simpson Court Transcripts

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