Judge Maryellen Noreika has so far quizzed more than 50 Delaware residents about their fitness to serve as jurors in the first trial of a sitting president's son. And being Delaware -- a small state that Joe Biden represented in the Senate for more than three decades -- nearly all of them had some level of familiarity with Hunter Biden's legal travails.
"I live in Delaware," one prospective juror said. "You can't swing a cat without hearing something."
"Delaware is a small place," another said. "So you hear stuff."
Several jurors said they had heard or read about this trial specifically. Most had only a cursory understanding of the case, but others expressed a detailed accounting of the charges. A few jurors mentioned the ill-fated plea deal that Hunter Biden initially struck with prosecutors last summer.
"At one time there was a deal, and then there wasn't," one man said.
One woman had even read Hunter Biden's memoir, "Beautiful Things," which prosecutors plan to use to help prove their case. She was excused by the judge.
President Joe Biden has emerged repeatedly in questioning, with prospective jurors expressing both positive and negative feelings on his presidency. One woman said she believed that Hunter Biden was facing charges largely because his father is the president.
"I think it was a very strong factor," she said.
Several others have been dismissed for harboring negative views toward the Bidens. Asked for his opinion about the president, one man said, "Not a good one." Another man said, "Negative toward the defendant." Both were excused.
The jury questionnaire also includes several questions about drug and alcohol addiction -- an affliction that many prospective jurors said has personally affected them.
One woman held back tears as she described how her best friend had died of a heroine overdose. Another man said his daughter is a recovering addict.
"Everybody needs a second chance," he said.
Judge Noreika has been pressing ahead, intent on getting a jury seated as soon as possible -- perhaps even by the end of the day.
In addition first lady Jill Biden and Hunter Biden's wife Melissa, his half-sister Ashley Biden attended court during the morning session, and his confidant and financier Kevin Morris is also in attendance.