The Next Four Jerry Sandusky Jurors All Have Penn State Ties, Including Three University Employees

We remarked yesterday on the difficulty of finding jurors in Centre County, Pa., with no connection to Penn State, and so it has come to pass: Four of the nine picked yesterday have some tie to Penn State or to one of the witnesses likely to be involved. And three of the four chosen this morning (including one alternate) are all employed by Penn State, with the alternate being a PSU alumna, according to Sara Ganim of the Patriot-News of Harrisburg.

From Ganim's description of the jurors:

Juror No. 9: An administrative assistant who works in the engineering department.

Juror No. 10: A continuing education dance instructor who said during voir dire that children don't always tell the truth. Also, Ganim writes, this juror's "husband works as a media information specialist at Penn State, and she said she has talked to him about this case."

Juror No. 12: A Penn State professor for the last 24 years who once worked on a committee with Graham Spanier—the university president fired last November in wake of the scandal—and Rodney Erickson, Spanier's replacement.

That makes eight out of 13 with some Penn State connection, with three alternates yet to be chosen. This probably says less about the prospects of the Sandusky prosecution than it does about the nature of central Pennsylvania, which, if you haven't noticed, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Penn State. Nearly everyone has some tie to the university. Trying a former Penn State coach in front of jurors drawn from this community is like putting a chocolate executive on trial in Hershey, Pa.

[ Patriot-News; photo via AP]