Eight scratched from jury field

Marisa O’Neil

Defense attorneys on Monday asked prospective jurors if they could

watch and “critique” a sexually graphic videotape -- a key piece of

evidence in the retrial of three men accused of gang-raping an

allegedly unconscious girl when they were 17.

The retrial started Monday morning with the slow, deliberate

process of jury selection, bringing roughly 120 prospective jurors --

from an initial pool of nearly 800 -- to Superior Court Judge

Francisco Briseno’s courtroom. Of those, 20 were called to the jury

box throughout the daylong process, and eight were excused by the

judge or attorneys.

Selection is expected to continue at least through the end of the

day today, and opening arguments are set to start Feb. 7.

An initial group of 12 randomly selected jurors took the box

mid-morning and gave brief, introductory statements about their

personal lives. Then three defense attorneys and Chief Assistant

Dist. Atty. Chuck Middleton, who is prosecuting the case, questioned

them further about their feelings on lying, their ability to tell if

someone has been drinking and whether they could watch a videotape

that graphically depicts a sexual act.

Defendants Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both now 20, and Greg

Haidl, the 19-year-old son of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff

Don Haidl, are accused of gang-raping a seemingly unconscious

16-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her with various objects in

2002 at Don Haidl’s Corona del Mar home. A videotape of the incident

made by the defendants is a key piece of evidence that jurors will

have to evaluate.

“It is graphic, and it is shocking,” John Barnett, attorney for

Nachreiner, said of the videotape.

One female juror said, based on the description of the tape, she

might find it “disturbing.” Another said she thought it would be

“difficult to watch” but could do so for the sake of the case.

Jurors would have to watch the video multiple times and be able to

“critique” it, said Joseph Cavallo, one of Greg Haidl’s attorneys.

“It’s not like sitting down with a box of popcorn in front of a

movie,” Cavallo said.

Briseno warned jurors that the trial may take as long as two

months. During that time, he said, they could not speak to anyone

about the case or read or listen to media reports about it.

He asked them to wait until the “bottom of the ninth” before

forming an opinion on the case.

“Everything goes around this point,” he said. “Can you promise

both sides you will keep an open mind?”

Attorneys asked prospective jurors if they felt they could make a

fair, impartial decision based on the evidence and not the massive

amounts of publicity the case has generated. Only one of those

questioned doubted her ability to do so, and she was excused by the

judge.

A second was excused because she said the lengthy trial would

present a hardship.

Prosecutors excused three men, age 24, 38 and 57. Defense

attorneys excused a 66-year-old Navy veteran, a 32-year-old woman who

works as a jewelry buyer and a 61-year-old retired kindergarten

teacher.

Attorneys on each side can excuse 25 jurors without giving a

reason.

The defense and prosecution had jury consultants present in court

on Monday. The three defendants, including Greg Haidl, who is being

held in the Orange County Jail for violating the terms of his bail,

were also in the courtroom.

Jury selection continues today.