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Jury seated in Pitino extortion case

LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 14 (UPI) -- Jury selection was completed Wednesday for the trial of a woman accused of extorting money from University of Louisville basketball Coach Rick Pitino.

The panel that will hear Karen Sypher's case in U.S. District Court in Louisville includes eight men and eight women, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Ky., reported. Opening arguments are not scheduled to begin until July 26 because of the judge's crowded schedule.

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Sypher, wife of the Louisville equipment manager, allegedly tried to get money out of Pitino by threatening to make their affair public. She is also charged with making false statements to the FBI.

Sypher's attorney, James Earhart, asked U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson Tuesday to dismiss the entire panel selected thus far. He said a majority had expressed dislike or distrust of either Pitino, Sypher or, in many cases, both, the Louisville Couier-Journal reported.

Earhart was overheard telling a prosecutor Monday that one juror wrote: "The defendant is a whore and the victim is a pig."

Simpson rejected Earhart's argument, but said he could write a memorandum summarizing them.

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