The Nation - News from Feb. 7, 1989

The judge in the trial of former White House aide Oliver L. North said that he expects to have a jury impaneled today for what likely will be a four- to five-month trial. After five days of questioning prospective jurors, U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell had accepted 38 candidates--29 women and nine men--for the pool from which the final panel will be chosen. He pointed out that he needs “a minimum of 44” before prosecutors and defense lawyers begin exercising their “preemptory challenges” to dismiss those they do not want without having to give an explanation. Twelve jurors and six alternates will be sworn in. Gesell denied a defense motion that the jurors be sequestered from the start.