http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/534298.htmlBy ERIKA BOLSTAD and RICHARD MAUER
Anchorage Daily News
Published: September 23rd, 2008 09:57 AM
Last Modified: September 23rd, 2008 10:08 AM
WASHINGTON - A federal judge warned Sen. Ted Stevens that it might not be the best idea to leave the courtroom during the first week of his corruption trial, but that if he is needed in the U.S. Senate, he'll explain the senator's absence to jurors.
"I would be remiss if I didn't bring this to your attention," U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan told Stevens just before jury selection began this morning. "I think it's possible that some jurors may think someone is too busy."
His lawyer, Brendan Sullivan, wanted the judge to tell jurors that if Stevens is leaving, it is because he is needed in the Senate to help address the looming financial crisis. But the judge told him he would say only that if Stevens is absent, he would instruct jurors that the senator simply wouldn't be there, but that there was nothing wrong with it and they should not speculate about it.
Jurors paraded quickly through the courtroom this morning as the selection of individual jurors got under way in Stevens' corruption trial. By 12:30 p.m. (Eastern time), the judge had reviewed 14 jurors and dismissed five.
Those dismissed included a lobbyist with Republican ties who said he believed he has met Stevens before and that he worried that his political ties would make it difficult to overcome his bias in favor of the Alaska senator. The lobbyist, who represents home-based businesses such as Avon and Mary Kay cosmetics, described himself as "a political animal." He has never lobbied Stevens directly but has probably been at the same events, he told the judge.
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