Former Montana QB's rape trial begins

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - More than 150 potential jurors are packing a hotel ballroom for the rape trial of a former University of Montana quarterback, as attorneys attempt to seat an impartial panel in a town where Griz football is king.

Jury selection got under way Friday in Missoula in the trial of Jordan Johnson, who is accused of raping an acquaintance while they watched a movie at her residence on Feb. 4, 2012.

Johnson says the sex was consensual.

The case is set against a backdrop of NCAA and federal investigations of how the school and the city of Missoula respond to rape allegations on campus.

Friday's proceedings took place in the Holiday Inn after District Judge Karen Townsend said no courtroom was large enough to hold the number of potential jurors called.