Jury selection gets under way in Ryder shoplifting trial
From Matt Carey
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Jury selection began Thursday in the shoplifting trial of actress Winona Ryder.
Twenty-four potential jurors were selected in today's session, and that selection will continue Friday. Evidence is expected to be presented starting Monday.
All the potential jurors have been given questionnaires concerning their exposure to pretrial publicity in the case.
Ryder, 30, who has starred in such films as "Girl, Interrupted" and "Little Women," faces charges of felony grand theft, burglary and vandalism. Ryder could face a maximum of three years in prison on each count if convicted.
She was arrested December 12 outside a Beverly Hills Saks Fifth Avenue store. Security officers accused her of taking nearly $6,000 worth of designer clothing.
Ryder was also found to be in possession of a painkiller, resulting in a drug charge. The district attorney's office said it was willing to drop that charge after Ryder's attorneys offered an affidavit from a doctor saying Ryder had reason to carry the painkiller, which was a generic form of the prescription drug Percocet.
