By Seamus McGraw

(Continued)

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A computer problem Thursday forced a delay in the proceedings, according to published reports. On a Friday, after a series of contentious exchanges between prosecution and defense attorneys, jury selection resumed, but only a handful of the 590 people summoned as potential jurors from southeastern North Dakota had been questioned.

Jury selection is expected to resume today as lawyers first try to narrow the pool to 70 candidates, and from them, they will select a jury of 12 plus four alternates.

So far, only five potential jurors from the larger pool have been questioned, and only one has made it to the group of 70.

It is a particularly daunting process in a case as high profile as the Rodriquez trial. The 53-year-old convicted sex offender made national headlines when he was arrested in connection with Sjodin's abduction and murder.

According to prosecutors, Sjodin had just left her job at the Columbia Mall in Grand Forks on Nov. 22, 2003, and was chatting with her boyfriend when she cried out, "Oh, My God," and her cell phone went dead. A few hours later, her boyfriend told police, he received a second call, apparently from Sjodin's cell phone, but there was nothing but static on the other end.

The young woman's disappearance triggered a frantic search that soon gave way to an investigation. Authorities quickly identified Rodriquez as a potential suspect, and on Dec. 1, the convicted sex offender was charged with her abduction. Four months later, when Sjodin's body was recovered in a ravine near Rodriquez' home, he was also charged with her murder.

The case set off shockwaves that went far beyond North Dakota and set off a firestorm of controversy when it was learned that Rodriquez, who had a history of arrests and convictions for aggravated and attempted rape in nearby Minnesota, had been classified as a Level Three sex offender by that state, the classification reserved for the most dangerous predators.

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Contact Seamus McGraw at seamusm@ptd.net

Seamus McGraw

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