
It’s taken over 3 years for the man responsible for the death Jennifer Hudson‘s family to have his day in court but, it seems, heer super stardom may negatively affect the case before it begins.
ABC news reports, On Monday a Chicago court will begin whittling down a pool of 150 potential jurors in the trial of William Balfour, accused of brutally murdering the star’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. Judge Charles Burns plans to begin questioning prospective jurors one by one.
Prosecutors allege that Balfour, the estranged husband of the actress’ sister Julia Hudson, shot the three in cold blood after he learned that his wife was dating another man. Balfour was charged with three counts of first degree murder and one count of home invasion in December 2010; at the time he was on parole after he’d spent nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Jennifer Hudson, 30, is expected to attend the trial every day, and her name appears on a list of 300 potential witnesses that could be called to testify. Attorneys selecting members of the 12 person jury are tasked with identifying jurors that are able to set aside their associations with the star and focus on the facts of the trial.
“All attention usually is on the celebrity sitting in the courtroom, and that’s the biggest challenge … to try to shift the focus from the celebrity observer to the action on the witness stand,” Criminal Defense Attorney Dana Cole told ABC News.
_______READMORE
