WITH TRIAL LOOMING, TOBACCO CASE COULD BE SETTLED

On hard wooden benches in one of Seattle's biggest courtrooms
yesterday, some 200 people - a blind woman, a pastor, a round man with
a raspy voice - waited for lawyers to pry into their lives and judge
if they're fit to decide a major challenge against the nation's
tobacco industry.

This was the second stage of jury selection. Potential jurors had
already completed a questionnaire, and now lawyers looked for hidden
biases.

No surprises: One man held stock in tobacco companies; another said
both of his grandparents died of smoking. The man with the coarse
voice said he feared an increase in the price of cigarettes, and that
he could not fairly decide a case that would force tobacco companies
to do that.

Some might simply have wanted to avoid the hassle of serving. After
all, State Attorney General Christine Gregoire's $5.7 billion case
against the tobacco industry, charging Big Tobacco with conspiring to
lie about the dangers of cigarettes, could go on for months.

With more than 70 witnesses scheduled and thousands of exhibits, the
case in King County Superior Court could go as late as February.

Gregoire took a break from sporadic settlement negotiations in New
York to be in Seattle yesterday, in part to show she will be actively
involved with the case, held in Judge George Finkel's courtroom.

Although she put together a team of a dozen lawyers to handle the
case, Gregoire is planning to deliver part of the opening statement,
expected Monday.

State lawyers will argue that Big Tobacco violated Washington's
consumer protection and antitrust laws by lying about the effects of
smoking, by marketing cigarettes to children, and by conspiring not to
make a "safer" cigarette.

Gregoire's team also plans to use the testimony of Lawrence Meyer, a
former lawyer for Liggett & Myers, who will speak publicly for the
first time about his role in developing a "safer" cigarette.

That type of cigarette, Meyer is expected to testify, was never sold
because other companies pressured Liggett, fearing people would not
become hooked on it. Liggett was dropped as a defendant in the suit
when it reached a separate settlement with the states.

Tobacco industry lawyers will say Gregoire is wrong, that they didn't
lie or try to trick children, or anybody else, into smoking.

They will accuse Washington of being hypocritical, because its coffers
have been filled with hundreds of millions of dollars in cigarette-tax
revenues.

That argument, tobacco lawyers say, gives them a stronger position
than in four states in which they have settled similar suits out of
court. Washington claims more than 80 cents per pack of cigarettes
sold.

But even as lawyers continue to question prospective jurors and
prepare to do battle with tobacco lawyers, Gregoire plans to return to
New York today to continue negotiations with tobacco
representatives.

Negotiating for Washington and seven other states, Gregoire has said
it's in Washington's best interest to settle with the tobacco
companies because a jury trial can offer only a financial reward, and
a settlement could mean sanctions against the tobacco industry.

Beyond that, a settlement could set a strong precedent; 37 other
states have filed suits against Big Tobacco. Industry lawyers say they
would not mind a settlement, because an agreement removes the
uncertainty that comes with a jury trial.

Gregoire said she and negotiators are "making progress" and are
drafting a proposed settlement, with "three to five issues" unresolved.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry