Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 28, 1992 TAG: 9201280005
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: INDIANAPOLIS LENGTH: Medium
TYSON TRIAL BEGINS JURY SELECTION ONLY ACTION ON 1ST DAY
Attorneys in Mike Tyson's rape trial cracked the lid on their cases during jury selection Monday, making it clear one key will be whether the boxer's teen-age accuser ever said "no" to sex." `No' means `no,' " special prosecutor Greg Garrison told prospective jurors. "If a woman says `no' and a man forces her anyway, that's rape. A woman is in charge of her body at all times."
Tyson, who was cheered as he arrived at the courthouse, is charged with rape, criminal deviate conduct and confinement. If convicted, the 25-year-old former heavyweight champion could be sentenced to 63 years in prison.
Five jurors - one woman and four men - were seated before court was adjourned Monday.
Two of the men said they were sports fans who don't follow boxing, although they had seen Tyson fight on television.
"Do you believe Mike Tyson is violent?" Tyson attorney Vincent Fuller asked one man. "In the ring, he is," replied the man, who eventually was seated.
Judge Patricia J. Gifford estimated that jury selection would take about two days, with opening statements as early as Wednesday afternoon.
Tyson's accuser, an 18-year-old Miss Black America contestant, told police she met Tyson at a pageant rehearsal on July 18 and went with him to his hotel room, where he restrained her on the bed, penetrated her with his fingers, performed oral sex and raped her.
"Do you think rape is less a crime if the woman used bad judgment?" Garrison asked.
"I don't think she should be punished for bad judgment," the juror replied.
Tyson, who has often been accused of fondling women, insists his accuser consented to sex.
"The woman knows what happened. I know what happened. I'm innocent," the boxer said after an earlier court appearance.
During jury selection Monday, Tyson's attorney, Vincent Fuller, asked jurors about their understanding of implied consent - the idea that behavior could signal willingness, even though the word "yes" had never been uttered.
Fuller, who successfully defended John Hinckley in the shooting of then-President Reagan, also questioned jurors about how they would handle conflicting medical testimony, explicit discussion of male and female anatomy and the use of vulgar language.
Tyson stifled yawns, doodled on a pad and occasionally conferred with his attorneys. Mostly, he stared ahead impassively or looked down, leaning away from the defense table out of range of a closed-circuit camera that carried the proceedings to reporters in overflow seating in a nearby room.
Fight promoter Don King told reporters Tyson did roadwork before going to court because "he is getting prepared to do what he do best - that is fight."
The trial has drawn news media from around the world. Reporters were allocated half the seats in the 50-seat courtroom.