A jury of 15, consisting of 9 female and 6 male members, was seated Monday and will begin hearing the case against Kenneth Brissette and Timothy Sullivan, both senior appointees of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

Brissette, the city’s former tourism director, and Sullivan, former head of intra-governmental affairs, were indicted in 2016; both have been charged in federal court with attempting to extort the Boston Calling music festival into hiring union labor it didn’t want or need in 2014, shortly after Walsh took office.

Prosecutors allege that he men used their power and influence to illegally exert pressure on the music festival, including threatening to withhold permits for the festival days before it was set to open on City Hall Plaza.

Both men have pleaded not guilty; and attorneys for the men are expected to argue that the men committed no crimes and, on the contrary, merely engaged in lawful advocacy on behalf of unions for work taking place on City of Boston property within the context of a proudly pro-union administration.

The charges have dragged on for three years of legal wrangling and a judge’s dismissal of the case last year, after prosecutors said they would not be able to prove that either men sought direct personal benefit from the alleged pressure.

But earlier this year an appellate court reversed the dismissal and sent the case back for trial.

The jurors seated gave brief descriptions of their occupations. Among them are: a public school teacher, a software company executive, an administrative assistant, a pediatric therapist, a culinary director and a marketing director for Dunkin Donuts.

The trial is expected to last approximately two weeks, with the jury meeting from 9am until 1pm daily.
It's unclear whether Mayor Walsh will take the stand, but he is among many witnesses who could be called.

Opening arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday.