OPELIKA, Ala. -- Nearly half of the prospective jurors in the trial of an Alabama fan accused of poisoning two trees at the famed Toomer's Corner next to Auburn University said they or close friends or family have participated in the celebratory rolling of the oaks with toilet paper after Tigers victories.

Eighty-five candidates filled Judge Jacob Walker's Lee County courtroom a few miles from Auburn's campus on Tuesday, the first day of jury selection, which resumes Wednesday morning.

Forty-one of the possible jurors said they had visited or seen the trees since the poisoning and 39 said they or people close to them had taken part in the celebrations at Toomer's Corner, a long-held tradition for Auburn fans after victories.