NATION : Barry Drug Trial Opens; Search for Jury Expected to Be Tough

A grim-looking Washington Mayor Marion Barry, accompanied by his wife and mother, appeared for the start of his trial on cocaine charges today, a criminal case peppered with sex, drugs, lies and videotape.

A major challenge confronting both defense and prosecution was finding an unbiased jury to try the flamboyant city leader, who is in his 12th year in office and whose exploits have been the subject of intense publicity.

Federal Judge Thomas Jackson barred reporters and the public from the opening session while he read a statement to 100 prospective jurors who also filled in questionnaires to determine their impartiality.

The normally up-beat Barry, 54, one of the best known and now the most notorious black mayor in the nation, looked unusually serious as he waved at several dozen photographers as he stepped from his limousine for the trial.

He faces 14 charges of cocaine use, perjury and conspiracy involving cocaine dating to 1984, counts carrying a maximum 26 years in prison and $1,250,000 fine upon conviction on all charges.