Simpson Trial to Open as Jurors Are Selected

An eight-member jury was selected behind closed doors in Miami for the road-rage trial of former football player O.J. Simpson.

Jurors were selected over six days from a pool of 110 potential panel members. They were questioned about Simpson’s acquittal in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife and her friend. A civil jury later found him liable and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million.

Defense attorney Yale Galanter said Simpson had significant input into selecting the panel of six men and two women.

Opening statements in the road-rage case were set for today.

Simpson faces up to 16 years in prison if convicted of felony auto burglary and misdemeanor battery charges over an encounter with a motorist on Dec. 4, 2000.