THE CANADIAN MUSIC SCENE

Jury selection begins in trial of Rush guitarist's son

A defense attorney for the son of the lead guitarist for the rock group Rush argued Tuesday morning that the resisting-arrest charge should be dismissed, but the presiding judge didn’t immediately rule on the request. Retired Senior Circuit Judge Charles T. Carlton delayed ruling on the motion until later in the trial of Justin Zivojinovich. Naples defense lawyer Michael McDonnell argued Tuesday that deputies didn’t make a legal arrest on New Year’s Eve 2003 at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples. Joining Justin in court Tuesday was his father, Alex, known on stage as Alex Lifeson in the internationally known rock group Rush. Alex Zivojinovich faces trial in the coming weeks. Justin and his father are accused of resisting deputies in a scuffle at the North Naples hotel. Justin faces one count of resisting an officer with violence, a third-degree felony punishable upon conviction by up to five years in prison. Alex Zivojinovich, a founder of the Canadian group known for hit songs such as "Tom Sawyer," is facing two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer related to a fight in the stairwell of the hotel. The third-degree felonies are punishable upon conviction by up to five years in prison. A six-member jury was being chosen Tuesday morning with the selection process expected to wrap up after a lunch break. The prospective jurors were asked about their tastes in music, and most responded that they were fond of "Easy Listening" music. "It’s more or less Frank Sinatra," a retired New Jersey firefighter said. "I can’t get used to this music today." Before the jury selection process began Tuesday, McDonnell showed the judge a videotape made by a patron in the Ritz Carlton ballroom that night. The videotape showed Justin in a white suit, disco dancing on the dance floor, twirling his hands in the air at one point. At another point, several women came up and put their arms around Justin. Carlton said he expects the trial to wrap up before the end of the week. Jury selection was to continue after lunch Tuesday. from an article By JOHN HENDERSON in the April 19, 2005 edition of The Naples News.