Judge lucky to have Ryan case

Man, federal Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, from the Northern District of Illinois, gets all of the good cases. First she got U.S. v. Patterson this summer, one of the most bizarre trials in recent years, now she's the judge presiding over the government's case against former Illinois Governor George Ryan. Jury selection for the Ryan case isn't going so well thus far:

When U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer recessed court shortly before 6:30 p.m., only eight prospective jurors had passed the initial cut on the first day of the jury selection.

Eleven others had been bounced by Pallmeyer, mostly because of perceived biases toward Ryan.

Though Pallmeyer had hoped as many as 50 people might be questioned in a single day, on Monday only 14 were, largely because of lengthy questioning by Ryan's lead lawyer, Dan K. Webb.

Can I be a juror on this case? I know jury duty is looked upon as a drag, but if I had to be on a jury, I would definitely rather sit on one that was ruling on an interesting case like the Ryan trial. I wonder if evidence pertaining to Ryan's famous moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois will be admitted into the trial.