Inside look at Sandusky jury selection -- Day Two

We start Wednesday morning with a pool of 40 new prospective jurors. Jerry Sandusky is on hand smiling at times when Judge John Cleland is making some light hearted jokes during his introduction.  Sandusky spends most of his time leafing through a binder from one of his attorneys.  Each page is sealed in plastic, but we can't see what they are. By the end of the day Sandusky's demeanor has changed, looking more exhausted. But he does get directly involved in conferring with his lawyers on a few, individual juror prospects. The judge asks each of the jurors where they're from, their work status, and if they have children. That last point seems to be more important for the Sandusky legal team, especially for mothers who respond they've raised boys.

A question about any possible law enforcement background draws a laugh when the judge said yesterday one prospective juror started talking about their CIA background.

Many in the room have some type of connection to Penn State. Ten of them have employment histories with the university, while nearly 20 others said they have made some type of financial contribution to Penn State.  A surprising number, close to 20, said either they or somebody in their family is a mandated reporter for possible sexual abuse cases.  By 3pm jury selection is completed with the final 12 jurors and 4 alternates.  You could of made a lot of money if you took bets Tuesday morning when we began that a Sandusky jury would be in place within a day and a half.  

There are a lot of names of potential witnesses who may be called to testify at trial.  The defense has a longer list than the prosecution.  Seven members of the Sandusky family are on that list.  So between now, in theory, work begins for the trial phase. That will include putting up a tarp corridor at the back entrance of the courthouse in hopes of shielding the accusers from being photographed when they arrive for trial.  It will go up if the state, the Attorney General’s office, is paying for it.  County officials aren't footing the bill.  A smaller tent like structure at a side entrance to the courthouse came down last week within a day or two after it was pointed out it wasn't going to shield anybody for more than a second or two.  And of course today didn't pass without the defense team again arguing for a delay in the trial start. They're upset with the release of information on alleged love letters Sandusky wrote to one of the accusers. They asked the judge for a continuance claiming prosecutors violated a gag order in leaking the information.  Judge Cleland quickly denied it.  Sandusky's attorneys have done all they can to keep Jerry out of jail. What’s next?  Some type of medical emergency??? We'll see what happens Monday, and if we have a trial that lasts longer than the preliminary hearing.