The jury pool was at 23 women and 9 men by noon yesterday in the trial of the Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, 2009.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds said she wants to assemble a pool of between 37 and 45 potential jurors over the next few days and to pick a final panel of 12 jurors and four alternates by today afternoon.
Abdulmutallab, 24, is charged with eight felonies, including conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism, attempted murder and attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. He faces life in prison if convicted of the botched suicide bombing.
Abdulmutallab was wearing a new black blazer yesterday over a tan thawb -- a tunic common in the Middle East and Africa -- with brown dress shoes and white athletic socks.
He has been subdued and focused, and paid particular attention to the questioning of a Nigerian-born woman, who was on the pool as of noon.
So far, only one African-American male has made the potential jury pool, and Abdulmutallab’s court-appointed lawyer said Wednesday that he would challenge any government effort to eliminate that juror on a peremptory basis. So far, 13 jurors have been excused in two days of questioning. Abdulmutallab wants to represent himself at trail.
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