Dennis J. Cogan, Fumo's lawyer, also wants potential jurors to be asked if they believe that politicians are generally trustworthy.

The questions would be included in a questionnaire distributed to potential jurors or asked of them by the judge individually in open court.

Defense attorneys for Fumo and three co-defendants met with prosecutors and a federal judge yesterday to review potential juror questions and to clear up other matters before the start of Fumo's corruption trial on Sept. 8.

Fumo, 65, who did not seek re-election this year and has pleaded not guilty in the case, is charged with multiple counts of fraud, obstruction and related tax offenses. The trial is expected to last three to four months.

Although defense lawyers requested that jurors work a four-day week, U.S. District Senior Judge William H. Yohn Jr. set a five-day workweek.

But much of yesterday's court proceeding was about reaching consensus on which questions Yohn will ask of potential jurors.

Yohn said that he would decide later what he will ask potential jurors about their opinions of Fumo.

Cogan said that jurors should be asked their opinions so that the defense "can get some kind of honest response" as to whether a juror can be fair and impartial toward Fumo.

"Very few people will be neutral about him," Cogan said. Yohn said that Cogan might be surprised by how few people in a jury pool may have an opinion about Fumo.

Cogan also wants potential jurors to be asked if they believe that politicians are trustworthy, untrustworthy or have no opinion.

Prosecutors said that the question was too open-ended. Yohn said that it was reasonable to ask jurors who had beliefs about the untrustworthiness of pols if that would affect their ability to be fair and impartial in the Fumo case.

But the judge flatly ruled out a hung-jury question that Cogan had included on a proposed questionnaire that he had submitted to the court.

"I've never seen that before and I don't think we're going to see it now," Yohn said. *