King Case Judge Rejects Challenges of 2 for Jury : Courts: Defense says it will take at least another day to seat a panel. Jurist accuses attorney Stone of ‘indoctrinating’ prospects.

A federal judge rejected two defense challenges of prospective jurors Friday in the Rodney G. King beating trial and said a jury was well on the way to being selected.

But defense attorneys disagreed. They foresaw at least another day of questioning after they exercised their first peremptory challenges.

Peremptory challenges allow lawyers to remove a prospective juror without stating a cause. The government has eight such challenges and the defense lawyers for the four defendant police officers have 14.

The defense used its first peremptory challenge to remove a man who said the beating videotape reminded him of scenes of police beating demonstrators during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Government prosecutors used peremptory challenges to remove a woman who told of seeing her son restrained by police during a drug episode and a man who said he had positive experiences with policemen and tended to think of them as truthful.

New prospects were called into the jury box. Two were excused for personal reasons--one because he feared for his safety. One man was dismissed for cause when he said he thought the policemen on trial “did something wrong.”

The defense has a jury consultant, Jo Ellen Demetrius, sitting at its table advising lawyers on which prospective jurors to dismiss with peremptory challenges. Often such dismissals are based on body language or background information on a secret questionnaire filled out by the panelists as well as their in-court answers.

Everyone questioned had seen at least part of a notorious videotape of the black motorist’s beating in March, 1991. They were also aware of a previous state trial for the defendants, Officers Laurence M. Powell, Theodore J. Briseno and Timothy E. Wind and Sgt. Stacey C. Koon, and the riots which followed their acquittals all but one charge in a state court trial.

U.S. District Judge John G. Davies denied two defense motions to dismiss prospective jurors for bias. Lawyers suggested a black man and a Latina were too anxious to serve in the volatile case.

The man acknowledged belatedly that he had dropped out of a semester of college that had been paid for by a scholarship in order to participate in the case. He also said he smokes but would give it up to serve on the trial, which is held in a smoke-free building.

Even when the judge said the hotel where jurors will be sequestered may forbid smoking, the man said he could do it.

The Latina who was challenged unsuccessfully is a history teacher. She said she saw historical significance in being a juror on the case. She also said King had been “seriously beaten.”

Earlier in the day, the judge chastised a defense attorney for using questions to “indoctrinate” prospective jurors rather than seeking their opinions.

The issue arose when defense attorney Michael Stone pressed prospective jurors on whether they understood the concept of a hung jury and whether they were willing to allow a mistrial rather than compromise with other jurors on a verdict they did not favor.

“Counsel, this seems to be touching on indoctrination,” said the judge. “No lawyer should (question) a jury for the purpose of encouraging a mistrial or a hung jury. I will stop you in your tracks if it is indoctrination.”

“That was not my intention, your honor,” said Stone, who then switched his line of questioning.

Six prospective jurors, including three minority members, were dismissed Thursday for bias.