Hedgecock Jury Tentatively Set : But One Juror’s Toothache Could Snarl Proceedings

A seven-woman, five-man jury was tentatively impaneled Tuesday in the felony retrial of San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock, but whether that panel will ultimately hear the case hinges on the seriousness of one juror’s toothache.

The jurors, chosen from an original jury pool of nearly 150 over eight days of questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles Wickersham and defense attorney Oscar Goodman, will be sworn in today by Superior Court Judge William L. Todd Jr., provided that juror Jacke Clary is able to return to the courtroom after missing Tuesday’s session to have two teeth pulled.

Clary told Todd, who telephoned her at home from the courtroom, that one of her wisdom teeth damaged an adjacent tooth, and that she had a dentist’s appointment to have both teeth removed Tuesday afternoon. An 18-year-old recent high school graduate from Carlsbad, Clary also told Todd that she believed she would be able to resume her juror’s duties today.

Clary’s return would make official the selection of the 12 individuals now in the jury box, after which four alternates will be chosen, setting the stage for opening arguments in the case to begin next week. However, if her convalescence from the dental work makes it impossible for Clary to hear the case, the jury’s composition could change, depending on the outcome of a legal dispute between Goodman and Wickersham.

When both attorneys finally indicated their satisfaction with the jury Tuesday, Goodman had exercised nine of his 10 allotted peremptory challenges--which can be used without specifying the reason for wanting a juror removed--and Wickersham seven.

If Clary must be replaced, Goodman argued, each attorney should receive a single peremptory challenge that could be used to remove her replacement. Wickersham, however, contends that Clary’s replacement would reopen the jury selection process and that he would be “entitled to all (three) of the challenges I have left.”

Noting that Clary’s return would render the question moot, Todd delayed his decision on the matter until today.

The 12 jurors tentatively picked to hear the mayor’s conspiracy and perjury retrial survived three rounds of questioning in which nearly 100 other prospective jurors were eliminated, most of them because hearing the case, expected to last until at least mid-October, would have imposed a severe personal or professional hardship on them.

The jurors range from students and housewives to a former congressman and a bank executive. Most of the jurors, who range in age from 18 to apparently the late 70s, described themselves as relatively apolitical, have never served on a jury before and said that they have little more than passing knowledge about the mayor’s case. In addition, three of the younger jurors are surfers--a hobby shared by Hedgecock.

Hedgecock faces 15 felony conspiracy and perjury charges and a single misdemeanor conflict-of-interest charge stemming from alleged illegal campaign and personal financial aid from J. David (Jerry) Dominelli and Nancy Hoover, former principals in the now-bankrupt La Jolla investment firm of J. David & Co.

The mayor’s first trial ended in a mistrial in February with the jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction. A conviction on any of the felony counts likely would force Hedgecock from office.

Here are thumbnail sketches of the 12 individuals who may decide Hedgecock’s legal and political fate:

- Clary, who will turn 19 next month, lives with her parents and manages a family-owned recreational vehicle storage park in Vista. During questioning, Clary said that she plans to enter college as a pre-med student next spring and that she “wouldn’t be uncomfortable” sitting in judgment of such a high-profile defendant.

Clary, whose political activity has been limited to handing out flyers for two Carlsbad City Council candidates--one winner and one loser--also explained that she enjoys surfing, running and bicycle riding.

“Do you feel you have enough experience, being 18 years old, to take on this awesome responsibility?” Goodman asked. Clary answered in the affirmative, adding that she believes that serving on the jury will be “really interesting and educational.”

- Kathy Saxton-Calderwood, a student in San Diego State University’s master of public administration program, is working this summer as an intern in the county’s Office of Special Projects. A San Diego native who lives in North Park with her husband, Saxton-Calderwood said that her career goal is to ultimately work as an analyst for either the city or county.

Saxton-Calderwood said that she voted in both the 1983 and 1984 mayoral elections, both won by Hedgecock. Asked by Goodman whether she had changed her vote from one election to the other, Saxton-Calderwood responded that she had not--a potentially significant admission in light of the fact that Hedgecock was the only major candidate on both years’ ballots.

As he did with most of the other potential jurors, Goodman asked Saxton-Calderwood whether her deliberations might be influenced by the fact that so many charges have been lodged against Hedgecock.

“Do you believe where there’s smoke there’s fire?” the defense attorney asked.

“Absolutely not,” she answered.

- Karon Dyer, a project manager for a computer systems house, is a divorced mother of three who lives in East County with her three sons, who are ages 19, 22 and 24.

A Kansas native who moved here from Chicago five years ago, Dyer said that she had been active in Illinois politics, but characterized herself as “a political dropout” since her arrival in San Diego.

“There hasn’t been anyone who particularly inspired me to get involved,” explained Dyer, who does spend time raising money for the Special Olympics.

Asked why she moved to San Diego, Dyer prompted laughter in the courtroom by answering, “Walk outside and look out the window.”

Dyer also lauded the American justice system and said she looks forward to serving on the jury, adding, “I happen to believe in motherhood and country and the flag and the whole thing!”

- Stanley Bohensky, an engineer who does radiation testing for the IRT Corporation, moved to San Diego six years ago from Long Beach.

A sailing enthusiast, Bohensky said that he has little interest in politics and admitted that he has not voted “in quite a while.” Bohensky lives with his wife and their three children in Paradise Hills, but said that he recently bought a house in Chula Vista and plans to move his family there soon.

Bohensky told Todd that he was charged with a misdemeanor in Orange County when he was 20 years old, but, pointing out that “that was 14 years ago,” said the experience did not sour him on the legal system.

His major concern about serving on the jury, Bohensky said, is his “anxiety about trying to keep eight weeks’ worth of testimony straight.”

- Betty Crabb, a Spring Valley housewife whose husband is an automobile salesman, is the only one of the 12 selected who previously deliberated as a juror, having heard a civil case and two federal criminal cases about 20 years ago.

A former member of a Republican women’s club who has lived in San Diego since 1957, Crabb said that she has not been active in politics since President Reagan ran for governor of California. Before moving here, Crabb worked as a broadcaster at radio stations in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

Crabb, the mother of three grown daughters, said she believes that she would be a vocal participant in the jurors’ deliberations, explaining, with a wry smile on her face, that she has “never been adverse” to voicing her opinions.

“Do you think all politicians are good guys or bad guys?” Goodman asked her.

“Some of both,” Crabb responded.

- Richard Stark is a vice president of Security Pacific Bank who belongs to a wide range of civic organizations, including the Lions Club, Boys Club and Junior Chamber of Commerce. Stark and his wife, the president of a family-held business that administers trust deeds and investments, live in University City and have two children who are in their late 20s.

Stark explained that several of his customers “lost considerably” by investing in the J. David firm, but said that that would not influence his judgment in the case.

A North Dakota native who has lived in San Diego “off and on since 1939,” Stark said that he has contributed financially to and worked as a volunteer for national political candidates, and was treasurer of former San Diego City Councilman Jack Walsh’s campaign in the early 1970s.

- Marion Scott is a retired Air Force recruiter who worked as a Civil Service purchasing and contracting agent after his retirement from the military. Scott, who has lived in San Diego for 26 years, served on a federal jury in the 1970s, but the case concluded via a plea bargain rather than a verdict.

Scott, who lives in Spring Valley, received a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1949 and, five years ago, received an MBA from National University. His hobbies include the restoration of his two 1940s-vintage Lincoln Continentals, which he occasionally displays in antique auto shows.

While some of his fellow jurors provided expansive remarks about even routine questions, most of Scott’s comments were very brief, reflecting, perhaps, his military training. For example, when asked about his impartiality in the much-publicized case, he answered simply, “I think I can be as fair as anyone.”

- Leslie Doherty, a receptionist for Gemco, lives with her husband, a plumber, in El Cajon. A San Diego native, Doherty described herself as a “Stephen King fan,” referring to the well-known author of horror novels, and said that she enjoys swimming and riding motorcycles in the desert.

“Do you think 16 counts is an enormous amount of crimes?” Wickersham asked her.

“If they were all proven,” she responded.

- Ann Rogers, a staff administrator for a manufacturing control director at Convair, lives in north Pacific Beach with her fiance. Rogers, who moved to San Diego as a teen-ager, said that her hobbies include surfing, snorkeling and bicycle riding. Rogers said that she did not vote in either the 1983 or 1984 mayoral races, but did cast a ballot in last year’s presidential election.

Asked by Goodman about her television viewing habits, Rogers said that one of her favorite programs is “Night Court.”

“Is there anything about that comedy that you can relate to this experience?” the defense attorney asked.

“Not yet,” she replied, smiling.

- Clinton McKinnon is perhaps the best known of the 12 jurors in the Hedgecock case. McKinnon was a Democratic congressman from 1948 to 1952, in addition to being a former broadcaster and publisher of the now-defunct San Diego Journal. One of his sons, C. Dan McKinnon, formerly owned local radio station KSON and was named by President Reagan to head the Civil Aernoautics Board.

In 1952, McKinnon ran for the U.S. Senate but was swept under by the Eisenhower landslide. “That was the wrong year to be a Democrat,” he joked.

Under questioning by Wickersham, McKinnon said that he supports laws that require public officials to disclose their campaign contributions and sources of income, but does “not necessarily believe” in limits on campaign donations, arguing that such restrictions often benefit incumbents. Those questions will be central issues in the trial, because the perjury counts facing Hedgecock charge that he intentionally falsified public disclosure statements to conceal allegedly illegal contributions.

McKinnon also told the prosecutor that he has contributed to many candidates, including Hedgecock. The former congressman’s subsequent remark, however, caught Wickersham by surprise.

“May I also add as a counterweight that I’ve contributed to Mr. Miller’s campaigns, too,” McKinnon added, referring to Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller, Wickersham’s boss.

- Renee Ranck is a 21-year-old restaurant hostess and business major at San Diego State University who lives in Mission Hills. Ranck said that she hopes to eventually become a financial consultant.

Ranck, who moved here last fall from Ventura, has had an above-average exposure to crimes and the American legal system. She told Todd that a former friend was convicted of a robbery in Ventura, and that her father and sister were robbed at gunpoint last year.

Ranck assured Goodman that she would not hold Hedgecock to a higher legal standard simply because he is mayor. However, like other jurors, she also stressed that she would not be more likely to forgive any possible transgressions by Hedgecock because of his public position.

“Here, he’s just like one of us,” Ranck said of the mayor.

- Bryce Bulman, an SDSU sophomore who works part-time in the will-call department at a Sears store, is the third surfer among the Hedgecock jurors. A National Guard member, Bulman, who lives with his parents in Poway, said that he is seriously considering entering the military. Bulman moved here in 1976 from Omaha, where his father, a retired Navy officer, was stationed.

Goodman asked Bulman whether any of his friends had been “hurt by J. David.”

“None of my friends has that much money,” said Bulman, a tall 20-year-old with a buzz haircut who hung his sunglasses on his T-shirt’s neckline during his questioning Tuesday.

Another light moment in Bulman’s examination occurred when Todd gently chastised him for chewing gum, saying that that was “the one thing that might keep you off” the jury.

Bulman, however, easily corrected the problem--gulping and swallowing the gum, much to the amusement of his fellow jurors and courtroom observers.