Jury selection in Baltimore mayor trial

BALTIMORE, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Prosecutors and attorneys for Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon are ready to begin jury selection for her trial on theft charges, courtroom observers say.

Dixon's trial was scheduled to begin Monday in Baltimore, where she faces charges that she stole from the poor by buying personal items with gift cards donated by developers for needy families, The Baltimore Sun reported.

The newspaper said Circuit Judge Dennis Sweeney, a retired Howard County, Md., judge, has specially tapped for City Hall cases, was set to preside over the jury selection process, during which he will be able to interview and eliminate an unlimited number of prospective jurors whom he believes may be biased for or against Dixon.

The Sun said the selection process could last for several days as Dixon's team of seven defense lawyers and four prosecutors vie to sort through prospective jurors. Officials say court clerks have summoned 999 potential jurors. the maximum number, and they anticipate that about half will report for duty.

Experts told the Sun that race will likely play a role in selecting a jury for Dixon, a black Democrat, whose chief accuser, State Prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh, is a white Republican.