European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 28, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 14 the stars and stripes . Simpson trial wednesday. September 28,1994 of Simpson right and attorney  smile monday alter com ment by judge Lance Ito in a los Angeles courtroom. Sniffing Over a number of things los Angeles a shuttered from an International to audience monday o. A Simpson did something he rarely does during televised court sessions. He smiled. It happened before prospective jurors began filing in for individual questioning on potential  court judge Lance Ito Clad in his Black Robe but More informal inde Meanor noted that the first Prospect called was juror no. 0032. I Don t know if this is an Omen the judge said glancing toward Simpson. Simpson wore no 32 during his years As a fabled running Back in College and professional  broke into a wide smile and Shook his head affirmatively. The redheaded woman in her 30s,made the first Cut and was asked to fill out a 75-Page questionnaire an return with 99 other prospective jurors oct. 12. Some potential jurors rattled by prospects of being Seq Este red los Angeles a the judge in the . Simpson Case questioned cajoled even offered to pull strings and suddenly Many potential jurors who thought they could t serve had a change of heart. After the first wave of would be jurors were summoned monday to serve on the celebrated trial an even 100 made the first Cut. Financial hardship was most often cited by the 112 who were excused. The Bleak Prospect of being stuck in a hotel for six months was a concern for Many who remained. I thought about it one Man said. Sequestration. It was like when Indi Ana Jones looked into the pit and said snakes i can do anything but snakes i be spent a lot of time in windowless buildings he told judge Lance Ito explaining that he had recently retired. I thought i was through with that. I be had 20 years of partial  asked if he would fill out a question Naire and try to serve he assented but added i m still worried about the snakes a reference to a scene from the 1981 film raiders of the lost Ark. The Man was one of the 100 potential jurors who received 75-Page questionnaires monday and Are to return oct. 12to answer Ito s questions on their Back grounds and beliefs. An additional 250 potential jurors were to appear tuesday. Of the 219 summoned by mail to appear monday 212 reported. Outside the courthouse they ran a Gauntlet of news Crews demonstrators and entrepreneurs hawking everything from to shirts and Capsuto buttons Reading of juror reject did t make the  the potential jurors gathered in a Large 11 the floor jury Assembly room. Ito introduced the players in the Casen eluding Simpson who stood and said Good  this is probably the most important decision you la make in your personal life Ito told the group. It s the most important decision of any american Citi zen. I need a fair  one by one the potential jurors then entered a Small room. With Simpson about 8 feet away at a conference table they discussed whether serving would be a hardship. Ito excused the 112 people for reasons ranging from financial burdens their pay As jurors would be just $5 a Day to the need to take care of children or elderly relatives. One woman said she needed her time to train for the California Highway patrol Academy. The judge offered to Contact the head of the patrol but the woman still insisted she could t serve. She was excused. / / of the remaining 100 potential jurors Ito separated the 65 who said they definitely could serve from the 35 who said they might be Able to. Then he asked the group of 35 to explain their positions individually but gave them questionnaires anyway. Simpson sat at a table hands in his Lap and tried to make Eye Contact with the candidates. Few returned his gaze. He has pleaded innocent in the june 12 knife killings of his sex wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her Friend Ronald Goldman. He laces up to life in prison if convicted meanwhile prosecutors asked Ito to delay individual questioning of jury prospects until after a crucial hearing yet to be scheduled on the admissibility of Dan evidence. The judge scheduled hearing today to consider the request Ito has said he will decide whether to sequester the jury after hearing from prospective jurors How publicity has affected them./. " a Simpson 47, appeared upbeat in court jotting notes on a pad talking with his Law yers and sipping a cola. He even hummed just before the first jurors were brought in. Under his breath Simpson Sang the words a new Day has begun " crime May not pay for witnesses jurors by the los Angeles times Sacramento Calif. Gov. Pete Wilson on monday signed Bills spawned by the . Simpson Dou. Ble murder Case that make it illegal for witnesses and jurors in criminal trials to sell their stories until the Case is finished. At a ceremony staged to coincide with the Start of jury selection in the Simpson Case Wilson also signed several Bills aimed at cracking Down on repeat perpetrators of Domestic violence. The governor said the publicity surrounding the Simp son Case demonstrates that the Legal system  a Clearinghouse for hearsay Idle gossip and Rumo Monger ing about the lifestyles of the Rich and  under the legislation it will be a crime starting Jan. 1 for jurors witnesses or potential witnesses to provide in formation for compensation a practice known As Check Book  the authors of the legislation state sen. Quentin Kopp Ami Assembly speaker Willie Brown contended the Sale of information contaminates the right to a fair trial by providing an incentive to lie. They also said compensated witness May lose credibility  eyes of a jury even if he or she tells the truth. Violators arc subject to a Misdemeanour and can be sent to jail for six months. Additionally witnesses who take rim they can be fined up to three times the amount of compensation they received. Jurors will be subject to a so of Fine. Brown and Kopp argued that their Bills were narrowly drawn to avoid violating constitutional rights to free speech a free press and a fair trial. They said for exam ple that witnesses to a crime can still provide information to news reporters but they cannot be paid. Outside activities Media onlookers and souvenir Sellers Are among the crowd gathered outside the building during jury Selec Tion in the double murder Case. Photographers Click away monday As two men pose with a cardboard photo cutout of . Simpson outside the criminal courts building in los Angeles. The