Zsa Zsa Trial Day 3: Actress Tells Fear of Being Jailed; Jury Picked

Day 3 of Zsa Zsa Gabor’s trial was marked Wednesday by developments of all kinds, a few of them actually related to the legal matter at hand.

Among the highlights:

- Gabor emerged as an artist, doodling pictures of the court reporter--”the lady who does the fast writing”--and Beverly Hills Municipal Judge Charles G. Rubin, who seemed pleased by the ink-on-legal-pad rendition, but, nonetheless, didn’t know quite what to do with it.

Gabor learned that her courthouse followers included a former contestant in a Zsa Zsa Gabor look-alike contest.

“Where is she? Nice looking, I hope,” Gabor said, searching for the woman in a hallway.

The woman in question turned out to have little resemblance to the former Miss Hungary--at least facially.

Gabor expressed a fear of going to jail, because such facilities are filled with “lesbians.”

“Mother is so worried,” Gabor told reporters as she paused on the courthouse steps Wednesday morning. “In a deathly voice, she phoned me this morning and asked me, ‘Dahling, are they going to book you in jail?’

“I told her I hoped not. I have claustrophobia and would be very unhappy in jail.

“And besides, they are all lesbians in jail. And I’m so scared of lesbians. Can you imagine being in jail with all those women?”

Gabor’s husband, Prince Frederick von Anhalt of West Germany, appeared to nod off momentarily at the two-hour mark of jury selection, thus extending his streak to three days.

And, finally, a six-man, six-woman jury was seated, setting the stage for opening arguments and testimony today.

Attorneys ended Wednesday in private conference with Rubin to resolve whether Gabor’s lawyer, William Graysen, will be permitted to make broad opening remarks detailing all of his client’s legal defense.

The 60-something actress--who faces misdemeanor charges of slapping a police officer, disobeying an officer and driving without a license--is planning to base her case on claims that she was verbally and physically abused by Beverly Hills Motorcycle Officer Paul Kramer, who pulled over her $215,000 Rolls-Royce on June 14.

As part of Gabor’s defense, Graysen is planning to call at least eight witnesses who were allegedly mistreated in the past by Kramer to illustrate a “pattern” of abuse by the officer.

However, Deputy Dist. Atty. Elden Fox on Wednesday made it clear that he hopes to keep the testimony from being presented, telling the court that he may want to challenge the relevance of some, or all, of the witnesses. At least some of those past incidents involving Kramer may be too old or too different from Gabor’s altercation to be important, Fox argued.

Gabor, meanwhile, concluded nearly three full days of tedious jury selection looking more refreshed than on Tuesday, when she hurried to the elevators and gasped, “Oh, my God,” upon learning that the trial might extend to late next week.

On Wednesday, smiling, she talked about her attire--a conservative black Saks Fifth Avenue dress--bought mail-order--and her diamond pendant, earrings and rings.

As prosecutor Fox walked past, she pointed out her horseshoe ring--”For good luck against this nasty person here”--then she laughed aloud.