UPDATE: 12:47PM
The first day to hear about the case and already the judge is behind schedule.
A jury's been selected and sworn in: 11 women, 7 men.
Opening statements were scheduled for 11am...now they're pushed back to 1pm, after lunch.
The courtroom is elbow to elbow: Rod, when not in the presence of the judge, is still glad handing in the gallery... Joking with courtroom sketch artists.
His wife, Patti, sits in the front row next to her brother. Robert Blagojevich is joined by his wife, Julie, in court for the first time today.
After the swearing in of jurors, the judge laid out a few rules of law: innocent until proven guilty, burden of proof lies with the Government and guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On top of that, jurors were instructed not to talk about the case with anyone, don't read or watch anything about it, don't do any research about the case or investigate anything about it. He also told them to keep an open mind.
We broke for lunch-then back at 1. Prosecutors speak first...
The first day to hear about the case and already the judge is behind schedule.
A jury's been selected and sworn in: 11 women, 7 men.
Opening statements were scheduled for 11am...now they're pushed back to 1pm, after lunch.
The courtroom is elbow to elbow: Rod, when not in the presence of the judge, is still glad handing in the gallery... Joking with courtroom sketch artists.
His wife, Patti, sits in the front row next to her brother. Robert Blagojevich is joined by his wife, Julie, in court for the first time today.
After the swearing in of jurors, the judge laid out a few rules of law: innocent until proven guilty, burden of proof lies with the Government and guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
On top of that, jurors were instructed not to talk about the case with anyone, don't read or watch anything about it, don't do any research about the case or investigate anything about it. He also told them to keep an open mind.
We broke for lunch-then back at 1. Prosecutors speak first...
