The Pellicano Trial: Jurors Selected, Opening Statements To Commence

Posted by Eriq Gardner

The release of the government's witness list was the big news from Day 1 of the case against private eye Anthony Pellicano. Many news organizations are focusing on the big celebrities that appear on the list, including Sylvester Stallone and Chris Rock. We'd like to note the strong showing by entertainment lawyers, including celebrity divorce specialist Dennis Wasser, well-known dealmaker John LaViolette and Bert Fields and a bunch of his current and former partners at the Greenberg Glusker firm. 

Fox News notes that the government's witness list was trimmed from 244 names to 127, a considerable cut that might help prosecutors meet the 10-week trial duration it projected in a brief filed last week.

One conspicuous name was absent on the list of 127, the LA Times reports: former FBI agent Stan Ornellas, who led the Pellicano investigation until he reached mandatory retirement age with the FBI last year. The paper says that the defense "has been bashing Ornellas with misconduct accusations involving his questioning of witnesses and other aspects of the investigation."

Both the LAT and NY Times note yesterday's jury selection as Pellicano's first opportunity to directly address the jurors. Pellicano is representing himself, and started out by asking a general question to prospective jurors: "Is there anyone here who has preconceived notions of what a private investigator does?"

When nobody responded, Pellicano asked if any jurors who considered hiring a private investigator would "like them to bend the law."

Today, both sides will present opening arguments.