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June 3 (UPI) -- Hunter Biden's federal gun trial got underway on Monday in Delaware with the jury selection of six men and six women who were sworn in later in the afternoon. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika issued preliminary jury instructions later in afternoon, and confirmed opening statements will begin the next day on Tuesday morning at J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington near Philadelphia.
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The jury of 12, which now includes six men and six women, are majority Black members, according to reports. There are four alternate jurors.
Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts in connection with possessing a firearm while he was admittedly using and addicted at the time to drugs.
One juror, a women, reportedly said she lost "many friends" to drug addiction while the jury's majority also relayed similar life experiences.
Other jurors are identified as gun owners, one who supposedly believes people who smoke marijuana should still be allowed to own firearms, others who disagree and who have a variety of other opinions on guns.
The other jurors include a female Secret Service retiree whose husband was a uniformed police officer, a man whose father was killed by a gun, and a number of jurors who say family and friends have suffered from addiction in its various forms.
First lady Jill Biden, Hunter Biden's stepmother, was in attendance for the start of Monday's trial.
Potential Hunter Biden jurors were called in groups of 50 until they seated the 12 who the court felt had proved could be impartial during a trial of the president's son presided over by Noreika,
This comes on the heels of former President Donald Trump's conviction on 34 counts related to falsifying records to facilitate hush-money payments in New York with both trials facing extra scrutiny in the shadow of an election year.
It marks the first time in American history that an ex-president has ever been criminally convicted in a court of law, and the first time the child of a sitting president was ever put on trial during their father's presidency and all in the middle of a presidential election.
Court filings show that jurors were asked if their "views regarding the 2024 election or of any of the candidates for president in any way prevent you from being a fair and impartial juror in this case?" and if they believe Biden is being prosecuted "because his father is the president of the United States and a candidate for president."
The White House issued a statement addressing the start of the trial.
"I am the president but I am also a dad. Jill and I love our son and we are so proud of the man he is today," Biden said. "Hunter's resilience in the face of adversity and the strength he has brought to his recovery are inspiring to us. A lot of families have loved ones who have overcome addiction and know what we mean."
Hunter Biden's lawyers said the charges violate a previous diversion agreement, which they argue is still legally binding. However, Noreika has rejected numerous motions by attorneys to get the charges dismissed.
Special counsel David Weiss, an appointee of Trump, brought the charges after he was named by Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden-appointee, to investigate last year. Biden's attorneys contended that Weiss "buckled under political pressure" after a plea deal crumbled last year.
"The charges in this case are not trumped up or because of former President Trump," prosecutors said, according to CBS News. "They are instead a result of the defendant's own choices and were brought in spite of, not because of, any outside noise made by politicians."
Prosecutors plan to call Hunter Biden's ex-wife Kathleen Buhle, and Hallie Biden, widow of his late brother Beau Biden to testify against him. They are also expected to use excerpts from Biden's memoir Beautiful Things to support their case.
Norieka on Sunday refused a request by Biden's lawyers to admit a second version of the purchase form he used to buy the gun into evidence.
