Jump to full article: AP, 2001-09-08
Author: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Intro: The state Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a jury selection battle that delayed trial in a class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry.
Trial was to have begun this past Wednesday in a lawsuit alleging that the tobacco industry manipulated nicotine levels to keep smokers hooked. However, the day before the trial, a state appeal court tossed off a juror and an alternate.
The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans said the two disqualified jurors should not have been seated because they indicated bias against the tobacco industry.
The people who filed the lawsuit appealed that decision to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Meanwhile, defense lawyers for the tobacco companies asked the high court to remove the entire panel and declare a mistrial.
The defense said several prospective jurors had immediate family members who are prospective members of the class represented by the suit's plaintiffs.
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