Jury selection has begun in the criminal trial of former state Rep. Thomas Wright.

Wright, a Wilmington Democrat, faces charges that he used a health foundation to solicit charitable contributions and to secure a $150,000 bank loan and then pocketed the money, reports David Ingram of The Charlotte Observer.

Judge Henry Hight of Wake Superior Court ruled this morning that media coverage of Wright's case - and of his expulsion from the N.C. House this month - should not prevent the trial from moving forward.

Wright's attorney Doug Harris had argued that potential jurors "would almost have to be living in a cave" not to be aware of the case and asked for a delay of two or three months. "This is all very fresh in the prospective jurors' minds," he said.

Wake District Attorney Colon Willoughby disagreed.

"I don't think this case has nearly the public interest that Mr. Harris suggests," he said.

Read more after the jump.

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