BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Selecting a jury for Larry Flynt's obscenity case may take as long as the trial itself.
One of Mr. Flynt's attorneys, Paul Cambria, said Tuesday that defense attorneys and prosecutors will likely need three to four weeks to find 12 impartial jurors.
He said it will be a long, difficult task because so many potential jurors will have heard about the highly publicized case and many will have strong opinions about it.
"People seem to have very definite feelings about both sides," said Mr. Cambria. "They have feelings about Mr. Flynt, about the right to read, about free speech."
Mr. Cambria's comments came after a hearing before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker, who will oversee the Flynt brothers' trial in January.
The Hustler magazine publisher and his brother, Jimmy Flynt, face obscenity charges for selling sexually explicit videos at their downtown store.
The judge agreed jury selection could be difficult and asked attorneys on both sides to offer suggestions on how to speed it up. He said he has set aside about six weeks on his docket for the trial. Mr. Cambria said an expanded juror questionnaire could help weed out biased jurors before they even get to the courtroom.
By evaluating their written responses, he said, attorneys will be able to spend their time questioning only the jurors who really have a chance to make the final panel.
Mr. Cambria said jury selection consumed three weeks at Mr. Flynt's first trial. Mr. Flynt was convicted at that trial, but the verdict was later overturned on appeal. He returned to Cincinnati last year, declaring he wanted a rematch in court.
At the hearing Tuesday, Mr. Flynt's attorneys argued that the charges should be dismissed because Ohio's obscenity law is too restrictive and violates the standard set years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Judge Dinkelacker said he would rule on the issue by Dec. 4.
