MONTREAL — It’s the calm before the media storm.
Next week, up to 800 people will line up outside Courtroom 501 at Montreal’s Palais de justice for the murder trial of Luka Magnotta.
READ MORE: Jury selection begins Monday in murder trial of Luka Magnotta
Experts suggest that choosing 14 people in the highly-publicized case will be a challenge, but the Quebec Crown Prosecutors’ Office is confident they will find an objective jury.
“The criteria is not if they heard about it or not,” said Crown spokesperson Jean Pascal Boucher.
“But whether they are able to judge on the basis of the evidence heard in court.”
The jury selection process, which is set to begin Monday morning, will last two weeks.
Jurors are required to be bilingual.
READ MORE: Letters from Luka Magnotta: accused killer thanks “fans” for numerous gifts sent to prison
The proceedings will be English but a number of witnesses in the case are French-speaking, including several residents of Paris.
After allegedly killing and dismembering Concordia University student Jun Lin in May 2012, Magnotta fled to Europe.
He was arrested at an internet cafe in Berlin about two weeks after the murder.
READ MORE: Crown heading to Europe ‘shortly’ to prepare for Luka Magnotta trial
Crown prosecutor Louis Bouthillier plans to present up to 50 witnesses during the trial, starting with the first one on Sept. 22.
Bouthillier told Global News he expects to wrap up his arguments by mid-October.
At a pre-trial hearing Friday, the court estimated all of the arguments in trial could take about six weeks.
It will be held in a high-security courtroom, which features a thick protective glass that covers the prisoner’s box.
The courtroom is small; there are only 13 seats in the public gallery.
Three places have been reserved for the victim’s family and a lawyer.
There are only five places for media and overflow rooms are now being set up.
Reporters have to deal with another issue: live-tweeting is prohibited inside Quebec courtrooms.
“The rule is that you can’t use electronic devices to communicate from the courthouse,” noted Jean Pascal Boucher.
Justice Guy Cournoyer is expected to address the jury panel at 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.
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