Tuesday, July 2, 1996

Jury Selected in Irvin Trial; One African-American on Panel

DALLAS - A woman convicted of marijuana possession two years ago was the only black person chosen Monday onto the 12-person jury in Michael Irvin's drug possession trial.

The only other minority on the six-male, six-female jury is an Asian female, a low percentage that drew heavy opposition from defense attorneys. Both alternates are women, one of whom is black.

"This is not a jury of his peers," argued defense attorney Ron Goranson. "This is not going to bode well for the community."

The Dallas Cowboys' star receiver is charged with felony cocaine possession and a misdemeanor marijuana count stemming from an incident in an Irving hotel on March 4. Two topless dancers and a former teammate were with him at the time, and only the women also are indicted.

After four days of trying to seat a jury last week, attorneys finally whittled down their pool of potential jurors to 32 for the jury and four for the alternates around noon Monday.

All potential jurors - even those who made the cut on Friday - were asked Monday whether they heard over the weekend about the arrest Thursday of a then-Dallas police officer who tried hiring a hit man to kill Irvin.

In whittling the pool from 32 to 12, attorneys on each side had 10 strikes. That group included five blacks, four of whom were struck by the state. The state used a fifth strike on a man considered Indian. The only minority among four potential alternate jurors was chosen, and she'll be the first alternate.

Assistant district attorney Aaron Wiley, who is black, defended his selections on the state's behalf in an often-heated hearing over the jury's racial composition.

Wiley said he did not strike the black woman with the recent marijuana possession conviction because she was the only one of the pool of 57 potential jurors who raised her hand when asked if they had a record, although later investigations showed that several people also had been convicted.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have someone with a dope conviction on the panel for a dope case, but her demeanor and the answers that she gave, that distinguished her, as far as I'm concerned," Wiley said.

Wiley defended his other four strikes of blacks because two knew defense attorney Royce West, one was a probation officer and because one had previously served on a hung jury.

Wiley said he also was concerned that the woman who had been on a hung jury also had been arrested for being in a fight 31 years ago.

West, however, questioned how someone whose record stems from an incident when she was a teen-ager would be chosen over someone with a recent conviction for a more germane issue.

"It's highly suspect when someone is left on a jury who has been convicted of dope possession," he said.

West, who also is a state senator, also said it was unfair that one of the potential jurors be stricken for knowing him because she had received campaign literature from him.

But lead prosecutor Shannon Ross, an assistant district attorney, pointed out that three jurors and one alternate also live in his district yet did not say they knew him. Among those four is the woman with the marijuana conviction.

"It is hideously frustrating for us to pick a jury ... then have to explain our motives," Ross said. "This isn't anything but a show for the press that the defense lawyers are putting on.

"I think it's clear none of the strikes are by a racial motivation."

After a 90-minute hearing about the racial composition, State District Judge Manny Alvarez needed less than 20 minutes to decide he would not change the panel.

Alvarez sent home the jury members who weren't chosen - promising to help get them off another panel if called within the next three months - and told those who did make it that they would not be sequestered.

"But if it comes to my attention that my admonitions are being adhered to, then that will come into play," he said.

Alvarez set opening statements for 9:30 a.m. today. He also said the court would not be in session Thursday or Friday because of the July 4 holiday.

Also Monday, the district attorney's office filed a subpoena for the managers of two hotels, neither of which was involved in the March 4 incident.

The interesting aspect of the filing was that it asked for registration information "for a Jerry Johnson or Jimmy Jones." Transpose the first and last names, and you get Jerry Jones (the Dallas Cowboys owner) and Jimmy Johnson, the team's former coach who now coaches the Miami Dolphins. Johnson also coached Irvin at the University of Miami.

But Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Mike Gillett made it clear the names were correct on the forms.

"It has nothing to do with those people in any way," Gillett insisted. "They are not involved in this trial."

When it was suggested the names may have been intentionally transposed, Gillett said: "I didn't say they're fictitious names. I'm not going to go that far."

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