Updated at 4:45 p.m. to include updates from the late afternoon.
Jury selection for the trial of embattled Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard began Monday at the T.K. Davis Justice Center in Opelika. At least a dozen potential jurors have been excused from jury duty thus far and about a dozen more have been deferred.
Three potential jurors were disqualified Monday afternoon for conflicts of interest, fixed opinions and the inability to render a fair and impartial verdict.
Hubbard was indicted in October 2014 on 23 felony counts of ethics violations. He is accused of using his offices as House speaker and Alabama Republican Party chairman for personal and business gain.
Each of the 23 felony charges could carry a sentence of up to 20 years in a state correctional facility and a maximum fine of $30,000.
Hubbard helped pass the same ethics laws that he is now accused of violating after he was elected to the House in 2010. Hubbard was sent to Montgomery with the first Republican majority since the Civil War Reconstruction Era.
Throughout the hearings on Monday, the defense began to highlight a potential strategy, painting Hubbard as a driven and motivated salesman, sometimes pushy but never lawbreaking.
Lee County Circuit Judge Jacob Walker, the prosecution team from the state attorney general’s office and Hubbard’s defense team began questioning a jury pool of at least 95 on Monday morning.
Prior to qualification, each potential juror filled out a 50-question survey regarding their employment, criminal history, education and marital status.
Once in the courtroom, the possible jurors — who were selected at random based on the address on their drivers’ license — stood up and told the court their occupations, marital statuses and where their spouses worked.
At least thirteen potential jurors were excused for medical issues and work related scheduling conflicts, as well as moral and religious objections to the process before lunch on Monday.
Jury selection will continue through the week as Walker and the legal teams must try to ensure an untainted and impartial jury. That task may prove difficult with Hubbard’s deep connections to Auburn and the high-profile nature of his trial.
When the potential jurors were asked to state their occupations and the occupations of their spouses, they were also asked to disclose if they worked for Auburn University.
The University is the largest employer in Lee County, and it’s where he rose to prominence working on the Heisman campaign of Bo Jackson in the 1980s. Later, he won the rights to broadcast Auburn’s sporting events and founded his own network, The Auburn Network Inc.
Hubbard later sold those rights, but still runs several radio stations in the Auburn-Opelika area including NewsTalk WANI, ESPN 106.5 and Wings 94.3.
His wife also serves as an associate dean at the University.
After lunch, the prosecution team from the Alabama attorney general's office began questioning the jury. The team has been under fire from the defense for more than a year.
Hubbard's defense attempted to have the trial thrown out over accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, leaking information to the press and a challenge to the constitutionality of the ethics laws Hubbard is accused of violating.
Deputy Attorney General Matt Hart, who has been accused by the defense of improperly influencing the Lee County Grand Jury that indicted Hubbard in October 2014, is still working on the state's special prosecutions team.
Deputy Attorney General John Gibbs, who was brought out of retirement to lead the attorney general's office public corruption office, led the questioning of the jury pool on Monday afternoon.
Gibbs asked the jury several questions including whether or not they had fixed opinions about possible witnesses. Those witnesses may include former Gov. Bob Riley and Gov. Robert Bentley. Less than five of the potential jurors said they had fixed opinions about the two politicians.
Defense attorney David McKnight led the defense's questioning of the jury pool.
"[Hubbard is] an entrepreneur, a businessman and a salesman, who happens to also be a politician," McKnight said.
McKnight then asked the jurors if any had negative impressions of politicians. At least 30 of the remaining jurors said yes.
"Based on all of the questions you’ve heard here this afternoon, is there anyone who simply couldn’t be fair and impartial to the state of Alabama or Mr. Hubbard?" Walker asked the remaining pool of potential jurors. None said yes.
However, three of the potential jurors left on Monday afternoon were disqualified by Walker shortly before court was dismissed, including one juror who was dismissed for agreeing to the statement "all politicians are corrupt."
"Don't do internet research about the case. ... You're basically under instructions not to talk to anyone about the case," Walker told the remaining pool of jurors Monday afternoon. "Don't talk to each other about the case."
Opening statements for the ethics trial are set to begin on Tuesday, May 24. Jury selection hearings are expected continue through tomorrow beginning at 9 a.m.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information is available.
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