The civil trial for superstar Taylor Swift’s case of alleged groping against a DJ continues to gain ground as jury selection has ended for today, and will resume later.
The pop celebrity has sued radio host David Mueller for allegedly inappropriately touching her before a 2013 concert in Denver. The host has since denied the allegation and counters in his lawsuit that Swift’s team got him fired from his radio job by directly reporting the accusation to his bosses, instead of the police.
U.S. District Judge William Martinez ordered the jury candidates to avoid talking about the case or viewing reports related to it. The judge made the instruction before sending the candidates home on Monday.
Several candidates were respectively questioned by the lawyers from both camps. Douglas Baldridge is representing Swift in this case, while Gabriel McFarland is the lawyer of the accused radio host.
The candidates were also asked if any personal experiences or exposure to news regarding the case would influence their objectivity. Baldridge managed to have one prospect removed for his belief that the person was already pre-judging the case based on a photo at the center of the dispute.
Both Swift and Mueller attended the jury selection proceedings but avoided looking at each other. Swift attended with her mother and attorneys. Swift would confer with her counsel from time to time as she closely watched the proceedings, while Mueller appeared to be preoccupied with reading documents.
Mueller has first sued Swift claiming that she and her team falsely accused him of groping her during a photo-taking session before a 2013 concert. Swift then countersued and said she was sexually assaulted.
Swift wore a white dress with a black jacket on Monday for the proceedings that will choose the composition of the 8-member jury from a pool of 60 prospects. There will be no alternates.
Both Swift and Mueller are not required to attend the jury selection but they opted to be there. They must be present during the trial, however, where the top celebrity is expected to testify.
Mueller is seeking at least $3 million in damages from Swift for losing his job at a country music station. Swift wants to hold Mueller accountable and is seeking $1 million in damages.
Source:
>Groping
What is there to Grop? Her ass is as thin as cardboard