183 Prospects Checked : Jurors Selected for Emigres’ Spy Case

A 12-member jury was chosen Wednesday to hear the espionage case against Soviet emigres Svetlana Ogorodnikova and Nikolai Ogorodnikov after a two-day selection process that revealed strong bias among many prospective jurors against immigrants who criticize the United States.

The jurors were chosen from a panel of 183 prospects, many of whom were eliminated after saying that they could not be objective in deciding the fate of immigrants to the United States who have been openly critical of the American government.

A few of the jurors and six alternate jurors picked to hear the trial also expressed opposition to immigrants who criticize the United States, but they said their views would not influence them in deciding the guilt or innocence of the accused Soviet spies.

Described as Pro-Soviet

The Ogorodnikovs, arrested Oct. 2 on charges of conspiring with former FBI agent Richard W. Miller to pass secret documents to the Soviet Union, have lived in Los Angeles since 1973 and have been described by some members of the local Russian community as openly pro-Soviet in their views and critical of many areas of American life.

As a preliminary screening device, all prospective jurors were asked to fill out a 32-page questionnaire featuring 74 questions designed to reveal possible bias in areas ranging from exposure to pretrial publicity to juror views on such subjects as immigrant rights and proper sexual standards.

Although pretrial publicity had been a major concern of U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon Jr., who two weeks ago imposed a gag order banning attorneys from discussing the case, it appeared from the statements of many prospective jurors that the immigrant issue was the factor that eliminated most of the people who were excluded from the panel.

Before Kenyon began questioning potential witnesses, the judge already had removed 38 prospective jurors for various reasons--including exposure to publicity, bias against immigrants and strong expressions of disapproval against extra-marital sex.

Admitted Sexual Involvement

The sex matter was included in the questionnaire because of the admitted sexual involvement of Svetlana Ogorodnikova and Miller during their relationship, which began in May, 1984, when Miller was a counterintelligence agent in the FBI’s Los Angeles office.

After the first trimming of the jury list, Kenyon proceeded to interview 33 prospective jurors whose answers on the questionnaire had raised suspicions that they might be prejudiced against the two accused Soviet spies.

While many prospective jurors interviewed by the judge said they had read or heard about the case in the news media, none said they had formed a preconceived view of the case and few could remember any details of what they had read in newspapers or heard on television and radio.

The reaction of potential jurors was stronger to the question: “What views, if any, do you hold concerning immigrants to this country who openly criticize the American government?”

‘Send Them Back’

Answers included: “Send them back!” “If you don’t like it here, go back.” “Love it or leave it.”

Because of Kenyon’s gag order, defense attorneys and prosecutors had no comment on the makeup of the jury.

The Ogorodnikovs are to be tried separately from Miller. Despite selection of a jury, opening statements will not be made until April 3. In the meantime, Kenyon will consider a series of government and defense motions relating in part to national security concerns about the methods used by the government during its investigation of the case.