Snoop Doggy Dogg Jury Pool to Be Screened for Lengthy Trial

The judge in the murder trial of rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and two other men has agreed to begin screening potential jurors later this week on whether they can spare the time to participate in the high-profile case, which is expected to last six weeks.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Flynn ordered the attorneys back in court at 8:30 a.m. Thursday to begin initial screening of the first 100 jury candidates in the case. Prosecutors and defense attorneys, including Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., spent Monday afternoon writing a questionnaire for the candidates.

It has yet to be determined whether one jury or two will consider the case, one for the rapper and his acquaintance Sean Abrams and another for the rapper’s ex-bodyguard, McKinley Lee, the accused gunman.

Flynn ordered an additional jury impaneled if prosecutors use a statement Lee made to the police suggesting that the rapper, born Calvin Broadus, may also have been armed at the time of the shooting. The judge, siding with the defense, said Lee’s statement could unfairly influence jurors against Broadus and Abrams. Prosecutors said Monday that they are unsure whether they will use the statement.

The men are charged with murder in the Aug. 25, 1993, killing of Philip Waldermariam near a Westside park. Defense attorneys say it was self-defense, contending that Lee shot Waldermariam after the victim was seen pulling a gun from his waistband as the three drove by in Broadus’ 1993 Jeep. Broadus is free on $1 million bail, and Abrams, who is represented by Cochran, is out on $200,000 bail. Lee was ordered to electronically monitored home detention after posting $1 million bail.