Jury Pool Queried on Curse Words : Obscenity: The lawyer for 2 Live Crew is looking for jurors with open minds on swearing and who are familiar with rap.

A defense attorney in the obscenity trial of the Miami rap group 2 Live Crew questioned potential jurors today about how cursing affects them.

Lawyer Bruce Rogow said he is looking for jurors who are familiar with rap music or who at least have an open mind about swearing.

“What I’m going to try to do is find out whether these people are shocked by certain types of language,” Rogow said during a recess. “Outside of having a jury of young blacks who know the music, we need jurors who can handle that.”

Two potential jurors told Rogow they were troubled by some of the lyrics in the rap group’s songs. No decision had been made on whether to excuse them.

Six jurors must be selected to hear the case against lead singer Luther Campbell and band members Chris Wongwon and Mark Ross.

They are charged with giving an obscene performance at Hollywood’s Club Futura on June 11. They are accused of performing songs from their album “As Nasty as They Wanna Be” two days after a federal judge declared the lyrics obscene.

If convicted of the misdemeanor obscenity charge, each faces a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.

Attorneys have spent four days trying to choose a jury and spent 2 1/2 hours this morning arguing over wording of the instructions that will be read to the jury.

The remaining 17 candidates from the first pool of 25 potential jurors were not brought in for questioning until 11:30 a.m. Another group of 25 more potential jurors was to be brought in for questioning later today.

Members of the rap group said their First Amendment right to free speech had been violated.

They also claim the jury selection process is unconstitutional because it prohibits them from being judged by a jury of their peers. Of the first 25 potential jurors, only three were black.