Defendants: Jurors Should Be Quizzed on Ties to Asbestos, Silica Claims

PORT GIBSON, Miss. - Defendants in a Mississippi silica case have proposed a questionnaire and selection process aimed at weeding out jurors who have filed occupational dust cases, or have family members or friends who have been plaintiffs in a silica or asbestos matter. Westrope v. Pangborn Corp., et al., No. 2007-38 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Claiborne Cty.).

The motion, filed Feb. 5 in Claiborne County Circuit Court, comes on the heels of a Jan. 31 mistrial entered after it was discovered that two members of the 12-person jury empanelled to hear James Westrope's silica case had close ties to related …