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Jury seated in trial of suspected New Year's 2000 terrorist plotter

A courtroom sketch shows Ressam taking the stand on Monday

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A jury was seated Monday in the trial of an Algerian national accused of plotting to bomb New Year's 2000 celebrations in the United States.

Attorneys and U.S. District Judge John Coughenour took only one day to select the panel in the trial of Ahmed Ressam, a 33-year-old who authorities say has ties with Osama bin Laden. He is accused of a sweeping plot to bomb city celebrations bringing in the year 2000, a plot authorities say they foiled.

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Opening statements are set to begin Tuesday morning. The trial is expected to last three to five weeks.

Eight women and four men were chosen from a pool of 75 prospective jurors. Four women alternates also were selected.

The jurors work jobs ranging from a jewelry designer to a construction company owner. One is a parole officer and another works in a jail medical facility. A Jewish shoe store manager said his ties to Israel would not interfere in being fair to the defendant.

"This is serious stuff," the man said. "We're talking about people's lives. I would try to be the best juror I can."

Ressam appeared cheerful throughout the jury selection process, smiling frequently. He listened on headphones to two interpreters who translated the proceedings.

The trial got under way amid heightened security, with extra police and bomb-sniffing dogs combing the Federal Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.

Ressam was arrested at Port Angeles, Wash., in December 1999 with a car allegedly loaded with explosive material that had entered the United States from Canada.

Ressam is accused of plotting to bomb New Year's 2000 celebrations in the U.S.

Authorities accuse Ressam of planning a widespread plot to bomb U.S. celebrations bringing in the year 2000.

The U.S. District Court in Seattle had granted Ressam a change of venue to Los Angeles after defense attorneys argued that "fear fanned by the publicity surrounding Ressam's prosecution had triggered events locally (Seattle) that heighten the improbability of obtaining a fair and impartial trial in this district."

Last week, a Nigerian man accused of conspiring with Ressam -- Abdel Ghani Meskini -- reached an agreement with the government and pleaded guilty to eight counts, including conspiracy to provide material terrorism support and use of fraudulent documents. He could face a maximum 105 years in prison.

As part of his plea, Meskini said a man he only knew as "Reda" was to enter the United States through Canada and that his entry "created a substantial risk of destruction of real or personal property within the United States." U.S. authorities say Reda is Ressam.

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U.S. District Court of Southern New York

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