LOS ANGELES — Potential jurors in the trial of a San Francisco couple charged with a woman's gruesome dog-mauling death will be questioned extensively about their feelings toward dogs and their owners.
A third of the 29-page questionnaire that was to be given to hundreds of prospective jurors beginning Thursday deals with a person's own experiences with dogs.
The questionnaire asks prospects whether they had dogs as children and what kind, whether they ever had dogs that were aggressive toward people and whether they ever had a dog that needed a muzzle.
The questionnaire was to be given to about 400 people Thursday and 400 more on Friday. Questioning of potential jurors in the trial of Robert Noel and Marjorie Knoller is scheduled to begin Feb. 5.
Diane Whipple, a 33-year-old college lacrosse coach, was attacked Jan. 26, 2001, as she carried groceries to her Pacific Heights apartment. Knoller, who was walking the dogs, said she was dragged down a hall by one animal. Whipple's larynx was crushed and her neck ripped open.
Knoller and Noel, both attorneys, have accused Whipple of provoking the attacks. They have portrayed their presa canario dogs, which weighed 125 and 110 pounds, as blameless.
Whipple's mother, Penny Whipple-Kelly, said the couple showed no remorse for the death of her daughter, who would have turned 34 this week.
"I don't expect them to admit guilt, but they could have said they were sorry," Whipple-Kelly said on CBS's "The Early Show" Thursday. "They tried to blame my daughter like it was her fault that she died."
Whipple-Kelly also has filed a wrongful death civil suit against the dog owners, the apartment landlord and the property managers, claiming they should have kept the dogs out of the building or muzzled and under control.
In the criminal case, "The legal issue is whether jurors will say that the defendants were taking an extreme risk, kind of like playing with hand grenades," said Loyola University law professor Laurie Levenson. "The question is whether there was an extreme indifference to human life."
Knoller is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and owning a vicious dog that caused harm. She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Noel is charged with manslaughter and lesser charges that could bring up to four years in prison.
The trial was moved from San Francisco to make it easier to find an impartial jury in the high-profile, emotionally charged case. But experts predicted an unbiased jury will be tough to get.
"The problem for the defense is a lot of people with families and small children will be afraid of dogs," said Levenson. "They will think it selfish and inappropriate to keep dogs such as these.
"The defense wants a jury of dog lovers."
Judge James Warren also has indicated his concern about the potential for jury prejudice in the case. He said he would close a Tuesday hearing during which references will be made to, among other things, "sexual relations between individuals and animals" and evidence about prison gangs.
The judge, who noted he had rejected 20 media requests to televise the trial, did slightly modify the gag order to allow trial participants to make limited comments about the case but not about the "credibility or veracity" of witnesses or lawyers.
He also chose to keep under wraps most of the handful of pages of grand jury material that were sealed, including crime scene and autopsy photos.
Opening statements are planned for Feb. 19.