San Diego

Jury selection resumed in earnest Tuesday at Richard T. Silberman’s money-laundering trial with formal interviews of 14 potential jurors and the dismissal of two.

Eight of the 14 possible jurors said they not only knew about the case but, of primary interest Tuesday to federal prosecutors and defense lawyers for the prominent San Diego businessman, had read or seen news accounts of Silberman’s attempted suicide in February.

Intense individual interviews with each of the 14 in open court were designed to learn whether the publicity that accompanied the suicide attempt had caused any of them to form an opinion about the case.

U.S. District Judge J. Lawrence Irving did not dismiss any of the eight who knew about the suicide attempt, despite the urging of defense lawyers that he do so to avoid an appearance of unfairness.

Instead, the judge dismissed one potential juror after hearing that the juror believed--but was not certain--he could be fair, and another, a doctor, whom the judge recalled he had known years before.

Silberman, 61, who once served as a top aide to former Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr., is charged with laundering $300,000 that an undercover agent characterized as the proceeds of drug trafficking.

His trial, which began last week, is expected to run for six weeks. If convicted, Silberman could face up to 75 years in prison.