Jurors selected in the case of the "American Idol" contestant accused in connection with the Nov. 16 death of Thomas E. Blakeley had a long day Monday as they were part of the jury pools in two other cases before finally being chosen.

They may be done after only one more day of work.

Six men and six women and two female alternate jurors were seated Monday in the courtroom of Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson.

Testimony in the trial of Jaered N. Andrews, 24, of Austintown, Ohio, who is charged with simple assault, is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Dobson told the jury he expects all evidence -- he named 14 potential witnesses, not counting Andrews -- will be presented in one day.

Mercer County Assistant District Attorney Robert Kochems said he essentially has the morning to present his case, and defense attorney Carl Marcus gets the afternoon.

The jurors, either by silence or direct response, said they would be able to render a fair and impartial verdict despite testimony involving "references to sexual orientation," and a case of a black defendant charged in the case of a white victim.

All of the jurors are white.

Despite the national attention the case has received because of Andrews' dismissal from the "American Idol" television show, the jurors said they had never heard of the so-called "'American Idol' case."

Andrews is charged with punching Blakeley, 39, of 44 S. Third St., Sharpsville, just before 2 a.m. outside the Blue Ribbon Bar, 731 Broadway, Farrell. The pair had had a confrontation inside the bar earlier.

Andrews punched Blakeley, causing Blakeley to fall backward and hit his head off pavement, police said. Blakeley died when his brain rebounded against the front of his skull after impact, said Dr. Eric Vey, who performed the autopsy.

Andrews is not charged with killing Blakeley.