Dasen jury selection moving slowly

By the end of a long day Monday, no one had been seated on the jury in the prostitution trial of Dick Dasen Sr.

In the first panel of 25 prospective jurors for the prostitution trial of Dick Dasen Sr., not one person wanted to be picked for the jury.

By the end of the first day Monday, no one had been.

District Judge Stewart Stadler Monday acknowledged to the group that screening for the jury was "lengthy and grueling."

On Monday morning, about 100 people gathered at the courthouse for jury selection. About 50 more had already been excused from showing up.

More people were excused Monday when they presented evidence of hardship, such as the physical inability to sit through the trial, which is scheduled to last six weeks.

Each person remaining met privately with Stadler, who asked whether the potential juror had formed an opinion on the case from pretrial publicity, and whether he or she had any personal dealings with Dasen.

Dasen is a well-known member of the business community.

Prosecutors Lori Adams and Dan Guzynski and defense attorney George Best were also present for the interviews.

Some people were excused immediately after meeting with Stadler. The rest passed the day by chatting or reading. One woman crocheted in the lobby as the day wore on.

By about 3 p.m., 50 or so people remained, and Guzynski began questioning the first 25 of them.

All said they were aware of the case against Dasen.

A few, under questioning by Guzynski, said they would not be able to be fair jurors because they had already formed opinions about Dasen's guilt.

Among those excused were a neighbor of Dasen's and someone who has played cards with him.

Guzynski asked prospective jurors if they knew any witnesses in the case, what they think about regulating sexual activities through law, and whether they would be able to deal with explicit, pornographic evidence in the case.

He asked if anyone wanted to be selected for the jury.

"It could be an interesting case if it wasn't so long," one citizen said.

Guzynski asked again later if anyone wanted to sit on the jury. Not a single hand went up.

This morning, Best will begin questioning the panel.

Jury selection is behind schedule.

Some 450 possible jurors were summoned for selection, with 150 scheduled to be screened each day through Wednesday.

The first 150 weren't finished Monday, so the second group of people who were summoned to show up this morning were notified not to come until 1 p.m.

If 12 jurors and three alternates can be found in the first panel, the second and third groups won't be needed.

Dasen, who was present for jury selection, is charged with 13 felonies and one misdemeanor related to prostitution.

Reporter Chery Sabol may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at csabol@dailyinterlake.com