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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Jury selection in the trial of former Enron executives officially starts this week with a questionnaire sent out across Texas, according to a news report published Wednesday.
The Washington Post reported that 400 randomly selected Texans will receive questionnaires that will determine whether they are fit to serve as jurors in the fraud trial of former Enron executives Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling and Richard Causey.
The three men are charged with conspiring to mislead the public about the health of the energy trader when it collapsed in 2001 and came to characterize a series of recent corporate scandals.
The juror survey, which includes over six dozen questions relating to such issues as personal investments and job history, will play a key part in trimming the pool from 400 to roughly 100 to 150, according to the paper.
Those who are not cut due to biases or because of financial inability to serve, are expected to report to a Houston courtroom in mid-January, according to the paper.
It is "the first step toward inquiring about the jurors' views in light of the wide publicity about Enron and this case," Daniel Petrocelli, Skilling's lead defense counsel told the Post.
Lawyers for both sides are expected to pore over the questionnaires in the following weeks, weeding out biased jurors.
Citing established lawyers, the paper reported that the prosecution and defense teams may even attempt to conduct research about potential jurors in an effort to remove those who might harbor a prejudice in the case.
The official jury selection process is scheduled to start January 17, according to the Post.
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