Jurisprudence

Jury selection began in the trial involving the death of Hank Gathers, the Loyola Marymount basketball player who collapsed on March 4, 1990, while playing in a postseason game and died of a heart disorder.

Judge J. Gary Hastings screened 100 jurors in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Torrance in an attempt to qualify a panel for the trial, which is expected to last four to six weeks.

The trial will cover the remaining portion of a multimillion-dollar suit filed by Gathers’ family against the doctors who treated the player courtside on the night of his death. Family members who were at the game claim that negligence by the doctors caused them undue emotional distress.

Jury selection should continue through this week, with opening statements possible next Monday.