Hudson, who expressed her undisguised disdain for William Balfour when she took the witness stand and endured weeks of excruciating testimony about the 2008 killings, was overcome with emotion as the verdict was read. She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. She then looked at her sister, Julia Hudson, and smiled.

The sisters left the courthouse without speaking to reporters but released a statement Friday night extending a prayer to the Balfour family, saying “we have all suffered terrible loss in this tragedy.”

“It is our prayer that the Lord will forgive Mr. Balfour of these heinous acts and bring his heart into repentance someday,” they said in the statement, which also thanked prosecutors for their “dedication and tireless work” and praised police and trial witnesses.

Balfour, who faces a mandatory life prison sentence, showed no emotion after the verdict. A few of his relatives looked upset, one repeatedly shaking her head and muttering that the verdict was unfair.

Jurors deliberated for three days before reaching their verdict against Balfour, a 31-year-old former gang member who was the estranged husband of Julia Hudson at the time of the murders. Just an hour before their unanimous verdict on all counts, jurors sent a note to the judge that three jurors still weren’t fully convinced of his guilt.

With no surviving witnesses to the Oct. 24, 2008, slayings or fingerprints, prosecutors built a circumstantial case against Balfour by calling 83 witnesses over 11 days of testimony. Witnesses said he threatened to kill the entire family if Julia Hudson spurned him.

Balfour’s attorneys proposed an alternate theory: that someone else in the crime-ridden neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side targeted the family because of alleged crack-cocaine dealing by Jennifer Hudson’s brother, Jason Hudson. During the 30 minutes in which they called just two witnesses, however, they presented no evidence to support that theory.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, who spoke to Hudson after the verdict, said the star was visibly relieved. She said Hudson had been determined to attended every day of the trial out of a sense of obligation to her mother.

“She told me, `If it was me (who had been killed) my mother would be here every day. So, I’m going to be here every day,’” Alvarez said.

Public defender Amy Thompson said she would appeal the verdict.

“It has always been our position and it still is that William Balfour is innocent of these murders,” Thompson said.

Alvarez reiterated to reporters what prosecutors had told jurors: that the evidence against Balfour was overwhelming.

Jurors told reporters afterward that their deliberations were thorough and cordial, and that Jennifer Hudson’s celebrity didn’t influence them. They said it took time to piece everything together, and that a key was cellphone records showing Balfour was in the area when the killings happened.

Jennifer Hudson, who was in Florida at the time, attended every day of the two weeks of testimony, sobbing when photos of her relatives’ bloodied, bullet-ridden bodies were displayed to jurors during closing arguments.

Alvarez said Hudson would not speak to the media about the verdict but would release a statement “at the appropriate time.”

The jury foreman said he hoped the verdict would bring Hudson closure.

“I hope she can put this thing behind her and get on with the rest of her life,” Robert Smith, a 47-year-old employee at Chicago Public Schools told reporters outside court.

Hudson, 30, rose to prominence as a 2004 “American Idol” finalist. But she became a bona fide star for her performance in the film adaptation of the musical, “Dreamgirls,” for which she won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Hudson was the first witness prosecutors called to testify, and during her more than 30 minutes on the stand she talked about her murdered family members and spoke endearingly about her nephew, Julian King, whom she called Tugga Bear. She said she knew Balfour since the eighth grade and always deeply disliked him.

Balfour had lived in the Hudsons’ three-story Englewood home after marrying Julia Hudson in 2006. He moved out in early 2008 after falling out with his wife, but witnesses told jurors he often stalked the home.

The killings occurred the morning after Julia Hudson’s birthday, and prosecutors said he became enraged when he stopped by the home and saw a gift of balloons in the house from her new boyfriend.

After his estranged wife left for her job as a bus driver on the morning of Oct. 24, 2008, prosecutors said Balfour went back inside the home with a .45-caliber handgun and shot Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, in the back; he allegedly then shot Jason Hudson, 29, twice in the head as he lay in bed.

Prosecutors said Balfour then drove off in Jason Hudson’s SUV with Julian – Julia’s son, whom she called Juice Box – and shot the boy several times in the head as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.

The defense tried to counter the portrayal of Balfour as an embittered husband by noting Julia Hudson continued to have sex with him until just days before the killings.

In heated closings Wednesday, Thompson, almost shouting, said prosecutors had failed to prove their case. Prosecutor James McKay shot back that the defense was exploiting a popular misunderstanding that circumstantial evidence is lesser evidence.

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They begin Friday after offering no clues Thursday about whether they’re close to a decision about William Balfour. Jurors sent the judge a note Wednesday but none since.

They’re sequestered overnights at a hotel so they can’t see news on the case.

Some juries first go through all testimony before polling themselves. At Balfour’s two-week trial, prosecutors called 83 witnesses and entered boxfuls of evidence, from maps to the .45-caliber handgun allegedly use in the slayings.

Some legal observers say the longer jurors deliberate, the better for the defense. But that frequently doesn’t turn out to be true.

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The prosecution is likely to argue that overwhelming circumstantial evidence presented by 83 witnesses during their 11-day case proves Hudson’s former brother-in-law, William Balfour, killed the star’s mother, brother, and 7-year-old nephew.

The defense – which began and then closed their case Tuesday after a mere 30 minutes – is expected to note that no witnesses tied Balfour directly to the killings and that prosecutors haven’t met their burden of proving Balfour was the killer.

The defense theorized in their opening that Hudson’s brother’s alleged crack-cocaine dealing might have led to the killings. They offered no testimony to support that theory but could still try to argue that it is a credible alternative explanation for the slayings.

After the closings, jurors will withdraw to a back room at the 80-year-old courthouse to begin deliberating on a verdict.

Public defender Amy Thompson is expected to deliver the closing for the defense and lead prosecutor James McKay for the state. The fiery attorneys often clashed at pretrial hearings and showed flashes of anger toward each other during the trial.

As she was every day during testimony, Hudson was expected in court for the closings. Wearing a beige blouse, pants and high heels, she looked more relaxed Tuesday than usual – even smiling once as a prosecutor cross-examined one witness.

Hudson was the first witness called last month, sometimes tearing up as she told jurors about the last time she saw her three family members alive. The actress and singer also spoke endearingly of her nephew, Jason King, who she said she called Tugga Bear.

The defense called just two witnesses in their brief presentation to jurors – both of them detectives who had testified earlier for prosecutors – in a bid to suggest investigators botched the triple-homicide investigation.

One detective conceded he wrote in a 2008 report that a witness saw the SUV in which Jason’s body was found after 6 p.m. a day after the killings. He told prosecutors the witness saw it after 6 a.m. He said he made a mistake in the original report.

The other detective admitted he hadn’t listed keys found on Balfour in a 2008 report. Another item not initially mentioned was Balfour’s unused transit card, evidence prosecutors say discredited Balfour’s alibi that he took the subway the day of the slayings.

The defense may use the admission about the keys and apparent confusion over the time the SUV was spotted in closing arguments to bolster its claim that police rushed to pin the slayings on Balfour because of intense media coverage spurred by Hudson’s stardom.

Prosecutors wrapped up their nearly two-week presentation earlier Tuesday after showing pictures of Hudson’s nephew. He was found in an SUV, shot in the head, covered by a shower curtain and surrounded by shell casings, officers testified.

Balfour pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. If convicted on all counts, he faces a mandatory life prison term.

Balfour and Julia Hudson were estranged but not yet divorced when the shootings occurred, and prosecution witnesses testified he threatened to kill the Hudson family dozens of times if Julia Hudson refused to reconcile with him.

Prosecutors say Balfour used a .45-caliber handgun to shoot Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, in the living room of the Hudson family home Oct. 24, 2008, then shot Hudson’s 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, in the head as he lay in bed.

Balfour allegedly then abducted Jason and shot him as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.

What do you think?

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- Hudson arrives each day through an undisclosed entrance, possibly through a back courthouse door. Other speculate she arrives and departs through a labyrinth of tunnels that run to and from an adjoining jailhouse.

- More than a half-dozen of Hudson’s personal bodyguards accompany her to court. Some occasionally talk into microphones embedded in their sleeves in the manner of Secret Service agents protecting the president.

- Several of Hudson’s personal security keep vigil by an elevator in the hallway, holding it for their boss during breaks and shooing away those not in her entourage.

- During lunch breaks, Hudson avoids the dilapidated first-floor eatery at the courthouse – where others reluctantly consumed microwaved, pre-made burgers – by dining on presumably delivered meals in a private room.

- Hudson waits for proceedings to begin each day in judge’s chambers. The rooms behind the trial room are normally off-limits to members of the public.

- Members of the public attending the trial must undergo a full-body pat-down outside the courtroom before entering. Hudson walks past deputies doing the pat-downs, though it’s possible she goes through security elsewhere.

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Hudson sat next to her fiance as prosecutors shifted their focus to presenting crime scene evidence in the case against her former brother-in-law, William Balfour (illustrated left).

Hudson hung her head and shut her eyes as Chicago police Sgt. David Dowling described finding her mother’s body sprawled in the living room with gunshot wounds through her back.

Hudson didn’t move as Dowling described finding her brother dead in his bed of a gunshot wound to the head. His sheets were pulled up as if he had been sleeping.

Balfour was estranged from his wife, Hudson’s sister, at the time of the killings. He has pleaded not guilty to murdering Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Hudson, wearing a black top and green skirt, sat in a fourth row bench well within view of jurors Tuesday. Her sister and Balfour’s ex-wife, Julia Hudson, sat on her left.

Chicago prosecutors created a buzz Monday by calling the Oscar winner and “American Idol” finalist as their first witness, but on Tuesday they began getting down to the nitty-gritty of their case.

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With no surviving witnesses to the murders, prosecutors must offer overwhelming circumstantial evidence that Balfour committed the grisly crime on Oct. 24, 2008. They are expected to introduce evidence in the next few days that includes cellphone records and security-camera footage that place Balfour in the area of the killings, because he denies he was there.

Another challenge will be tying Balfour to the alleged murder weapon, a silver and black .45-calibre handgun that sat Monday on a stack of papers at the prosecution table in plain view of jurors and Jennifer Hudson.

Public defender Amy Thompson told jurors during her opening statement that DNA found on the gun didn’t match Balfour, which “absolutely, positively” excludes him as the killer. But prosecutors claim that Balfour targeted the family in a horrific act of vindictiveness against his ex-wife.

Shortly after Thompson and prosecutors laid out their cases, Jennifer Hudson took the witness stand in sometimes tearful, gut-wrenching testimony. Hudson, who was in Florida at the time of the shootings, spoke of her family and her reaction to her sister, Julia Hudson, telling her in 2006 that she was marrying Balfour.

“None of us wanted her to marry him,” the 30-year-old said, her voice cracking as she struggled to hold back tears.

Later, Julia Hudson described how Balfour repeatedly threatened her and her family after she rejected his pleas in May 2008.

“He said, `If you leave me, you will be the last to die. I’ll kill your family first,’” she said, her voice quivering.

Under cross-examination, she acknowledged she was still having sex with Balfour days before the slayings.

The killings happened the day after her birthday. Prosecutors believe that Balfour became enraged by balloons he saw at the home that he thought were from her new boyfriend.

Prosecutors said Balfour went inside the three-story house around 9 a.m. and shot Hudson’s mother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, in the living room, then shot her 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, twice in the head as he lay in bed.

Investigators allege he then drove off in Jason Hudson’s sport utility vehicle with 7-year-old Julian inside, and later shot the boy in the head as he lay behind a front seat.

If convicted of at least two of the murder counts, Balfour would face a mandatory life sentence.

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With no surviving witnesses to the murders, prosecutors must offer overwhelming circumstantial evidence that William Balfour, the ex-husband of Hudson’s sister, committed the grisly crime on Oct. 24, 2008. They are expected to introduce evidence in the next few days that includes cellphone records and security-camera footage that place Balfour in the area of the killings, since he denies he was there.

Another challenge will be tying Balfour to the alleged murder weapon, a silver and black .45-calibre handgun that sat Monday on a stack of papers at the prosecution table in plain view of jurors and Hudson, who testified – and attracted a large crowd of national and local media – earlier in the day.

Public defender Amy Thompson told jurors during her opening statement that DNA found on the gun didn’t match Balfour, which “absolutely, positively” excludes him as the killer. But prosecutors claim that Balfour targeted the family in a horrific act of vindictiveness against his ex-wife.

Shortly after Thompson and prosecutors laid out their cases, Jennifer Hudson took the witness stand in sometimes tearful, gut-wrenching testimony. Wearing a simple, all-black dress, the singer-actress broke down at one point, dabbing tears as she testified just yards away from Balfour.

The “American Idol” finalist and Oscar winner, who was in Florida at the time of the shootings, spoke of her family and her reaction to her sister, Julia Hudson, telling her in 2006 that she was marrying Balfour.

“None of us wanted her to marry him,” the 30-year-old said, her voice cracking as she struggled to hold back tears. Asked later if she was ever friends with Balfour, whom she knew from junior high school, Hudson answered with disgust.

“Never,” she said firmly. “I tried to keep my distance from William Balfour.”

With her hair up in a bun, Hudson at first seemed composed on the stand – even as she leaned around the judge’s bench to identify Balfour. But she began crying when talking about seeing her family for the last time the Sunday before the killings.

After just more than 30 minutes, she stepped down, grabbed a fistful of tissues and walked across the courtroom directly in front of jurors. She took a seat next to her fiance, David Otunga, best known for his stint on VH1′s reality show “I Love New York.”

Sitting on a fourth-row bench, she bowed her head and wiped away tears after prosecutors called her sister to the stand and began playing a recording of the 911 call Julia Hudson made after discovering their mother’s bloodied body.

“Oh my God, oh my God,” she is heard yelling at a dispatcher, who tells her to stop screaming because he can’t understand her. “My momma, my momma!”

Balfour, who pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, slumped in his chair and kept his eyes fixed on his former wife, whose divorce from Balfour was finalized just last year.

Julia Hudson described how Balfour repeatedly threatened her and her family after she rejected his pleas in May 2008.

“He said, `If you leave me, you will be the last to die. I’ll kill your family first,’” she said, her voice quivering.

Under cross-examination, she acknowledged she was still having sex with Balfour days before the slayings.

The killings happened the day after her birthday. Prosecutors believe that Balfour became enraged by balloons he saw at the home that he thought were from her new boyfriend.

Thompson suggested during her opening that the killings may have been a result of alleged drug dealing by Hudson’s brother, Jason Hudson, in the crime-ridden South Side neighborhood where they lived in Chicago. She claimed that police pinned the slayings on Balfour because they felt pressured to make an arrest, since the victims were a celebrity’s relatives.

“The police were on the hook,” she said. “They had to find their man and find him fast.”

Prosecutors said Balfour went inside the three-story house around 9 a.m. and shot Hudson’s mother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, in the living room, then shot her 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, twice in the head as he lay in bed.

Investigators allege he then drove off in Jason Hudson’s sport utility vehicle with 7-year-old Julian inside, and later shot the boy in the head as he lay behind a front seat.

If convicted of at least two of the murder counts, Balfour would face a mandatory life sentence.

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Courtroom spokesman Terry Sullivan says Hudson is in the building, but will not be in court for

opening statements. He didn’t elaborate.

The 30-year-old actress and singer is among a list of 300 potential witnesses who could be called.

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William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, is charged with first-degree murder in the 2008 slayings. Prosecutors say Balfour shot them in 2008 in a jealous rage because his estranged wife, Julia Hudson, had a new boyfriend.

Julia Hudson has said her sister screamed when she told her about the murders.

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A prosecutor is expected to tell jurors that Monday during opening statements at the trial of William Balfour (pictured right). He is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Oct. 24, 2008, slayings that generated nationwide headlines because of Hudson’s fame.

The estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, Balfour believed the balloons he saw at the Hudson home came from Julia Hudson’s new boyfriend; driving away for her job as a school bus driver, she glimpsed Balfour in her mirror still lingering outside, prosecutors have said.
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They say Balfour went back inside the three-story house around 9 a.m. and used a .45-caliber handgun to kill Hudson’s mother, 57-year-old Darnell Donerson, in the living room, and then shot her 29-year-old brother, Jason Hudson, twice in the head as he lay in bed.

He allegedly drove off in Jason Hudson’s SUV with Julia Hudson’s son, Julian King, inside. Authorities say he shot the boy nicknamed Juice Box in the head as he lay behind a front seat. His body was found in the abandoned vehicle miles away after a three-day search.

There are no known witnesses to the slayings, and it’s unclear what physical evidence exists, be it fingerprints or DNA. Prosecutors say gunshot residue was found on the steering wheel of Balfour’s car. But the defense says it and other evidence is circumstantial.

A gun, which Balfour allegedly stole months before from Hudson’s brother, was recovered in a lot near where the SUV was found and will be presented as the murder weapon.

Establishing motive may pose less of a challenge.

A high-school dropout and one-time Gangster Disciple known by the gang name “Flex,” Balfour allegedly threatened to kill the Hudson family at least two dozen times, starting earlier in 2008 when he moved out of the house, lead prosecutor James McKay has said.

McKay says that a day before the killings, on Julia Hudson’s birthday, Balfour told her, “If you ever leave me, I’m going to kill you, but I’m going to kill your family first.” She didn’t take him seriously, McKay said, because Balfour hadn’t acted on the threats before.

Court records indicate the now 34-year-old Julia Hudson’s divorce from Balfour was finalized last year.

If convicted of at least two of the murder counts, the 30-year-old Balfour, on parole at the time of the killings after serving nearly seven years for attempted murder and vehicular hijacking, would face a mandatory life sentence.

Jennifer Hudson’s name is among 300 on a list of potential witnesses, though it’s not certain she will testify. The 2004 “American Idol” finalist and 2007 Oscar winner for her role in “Dreamgirls” is expected to attend each day of testimony, which could last up to a month.

Judge Charles Burns has instructed jurors to set aside any sympathy for Hudson and decide a verdict strictly according to testimony. The panelists include a teacher, a trucker and two people who have had close relatives murdered.

Prosecutors have said Balfour claimed he wasn’t near the Hudson home at the time of the killing, but they are expected to introduce cellphone records that allegedly prove he was in the area when two teenage girls who live nearby heard gunshots.

The witnesses didn’t immediately report the shots to police because the sound of gunfire isn’t uncommon in the impoverished, crime-ridden Englewood neighborhood, according to court filings.

The trial is being held in a nearly century-old, oak and granite courtroom where several TV legal dramas have been filmed. It’s the same courtroom where R&B singer R. Kelly was acquitted on child pornography charges in 2008.

The final four panelists were chosen on the second day of one-by-one questioning of prospective jurors. Among them was a member of an acrobatics group and someone who served years ago on the jury of another murder trial.

The 14 selected earlier to hear evidence against William Balfour included a school teacher, an unemployed bank teller searching for a job who lives three blocks from court and a young chocolate-company employee who said her favorite activity outside work was eating and sleeping.

The specter of Hudson’s star power and how it could affect proceedings loomed over the two days of jury selection this week.

Before he let those chosen Tuesday head home, Judge Charles Burns warned them not to switch on “American Idol” this Thursday because Hudson may appear on the show, on which she first rose to fame as a contestant in 2004.

“Please don’t watch it,” he said firmly.

Hudson’s celebrity took center stage in many juror interviews.

Most potential jurors insisted that despite what they knew about Hudson or had heard about the case, they could assess Balfour’s guilt or innocence strictly according evidence presented in court. Others were not deemed as impartial.

A data analyst questioned Tuesday was dismissed after describing himself as a “big fan” of Hudson’s who had read extensively about the case. He paused for several seconds when the judge asked if he still could be fair, finally answering haltingly, “I would do my best.”

The judge also scrutinized a woman who wrote about Hudson as an entertainment reporter for a suburban newspaper. But Burns ruled neither her job nor the fact that she knew one defense attorney was grounds to dismiss her. She was later bumped by attorneys, however, during a final stage of selection that allowed them to strike a number of people without giving a reason.

During juror questioning Tuesday, Balfour, 30, sat unsmiling and slumping in his chair. But he kept his eyes fixed on each would-be juror as they sat a few feet across a table to answer questions.

Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, is accused of shooting to death Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, brother, Jason Hudson, 29, and her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King. Jennifer Hudson is on a 300-name list of potential witnesses and is expected to attend each day of the trial once testimony begins April 23.

Questioning of jurors highlighted just how many people in the Chicago area or their relatives have had brushes with violence.

At least two people selected for the jury had family members who were murdered. The son of one woman dismissed Tuesday was shot in 2002 and is paralyzed from his chest down. And on Monday, an unemployed widow whose nephew recently killed his pregnant wife doubted she would hear the evidence against Balfour dispassionately.

“It’s way too close to home,” she said. “It’s just that there’s a child involved, and I can’t get past that.”

The young man in the acrobatic group is a member of the Jesse White Tumbling Team, which was formed by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. Among others selected over the two days was a custodian, a former corrections officers and a truck driver.

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The Hollywood star’s presence, and the accompanying media hubbub, is bound to affect the proceedings, which begin Monday. That’s when presiding Judge Charles Burns plans to start questioning would-be jurors one by one, trying to weed out anyone who could be swayed by Hudson’s celebrity status.

Hudson is expected to be at the trial every day once testimony begins, court officials say, and she’s on the 300-name list of witnesses who could testify. While the judge will warn prospective jurors to avoid watching TV coverage of the trial, they may see Hudson on “American Idol” on Thursday.

Legal experts widely agree on the No. 1 challenge at trials involving megastars: It’s identifying 12 jurors able and willing to assess guilt solely on what they hear in court.

Hudson will need to refrain from overt displays of emotion as potentially starstruck jurors’ eyes dart back at her, said Gerald Uelmen, a defense attorney at O.J. Simpson’s murder trial.

“The risk is that jurors may be watching her rather than testifying witnesses, and they could be influenced by how she reacts,” he said. “She would be well advised not to engage in any facial expressions or outbursts. That could be grounds for a mistrial.”

Prosecutors say William Balfour, the 30-year-old estranged husband of Hudson’s sister, shot the family in a jealous rage because Julia Hudson was dating another man. Jennifer Hudson, also 30, and Balfour grew up in the same South Side neighborhood.

The bodies of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother, Jason Hudson, 29, were found shot to death in the family’s home on Oct. 24, 2008. The body of her nephew, Julian King, was found days later in a vehicle several miles away.

Balfour’s attorneys have said the evidence is circumstantial, though prosecutors say proof he committed the crime will include gun residue found on his car’s steering wheel.

Adored by many Chicagoans, Hudson will pose a stark contrast to Balfour, a short man with a long criminal record. He was a one-time Gangster Disciples gang member and known by his street name, “Flex,” according to court documents.

The dilemma posed by Balfour’s trial became clear last week, when 150 potential jurors filled out their questionnaires in court. Nine of the 66 questions dealt with Hudson’s career: Would-be jurors were asked if they’d ever seen her Academy Award-winning film “Dreamgirls” and if they belong to an organization for which Hudson is a spokesperson, presumably a reference to Weight Watchers.

It was obvious many potential jurors had heard of the killings, some gasping when the judge first read the name of the case.

And when Burns asked if anyone felt they couldn’t hear the evidence “without sympathy, bias or prejudice” to step up, he looked on with apparent alarm as five, 15, then 20 people rose. He finally told everyone to sit down and disregard the question, for now.

The history of high-profile trials – from Simpson’s to Michael Jackson’s doctor, Conrad Murray – suggests it’s hard to dim the celebrity glow. But Burns, known as a competent but quick-tempered judge, wants to ensure the buzz doesn’t undercut Balfour’s right to a fair trial. He’s made it clear he won’t tolerate disruptions. He’s barred tweeting from inside court because he fears feverish typing would distract jurors. He’s imposed gag orders on attorneys.

Cameras also won’t be allowed in the courtroom, though that won’t stop the media circus outside. Chicago isn’t a paparazzi hot spot, but cameramen are likely to swoop in from New York or Los Angeles, said Ray Murray, an associate journalism professor at Oklahoma State University who studies paparazzi.

“Going in and out of the courtroom won’t be fun for her,” Murray said. “They look like cannons, some of these cameras, and if you’re going through what she’s about to go through, you can imagine that would rattle her.”

The brush with celebrity may be irresistible for jurors, as there’s a tendency to feel a protective bond with movie stars and singers almost as if they’re family, said prominent defense lawyer Gerry Spence.

There could be “a sort of underlying sense, a subconscious sense, that they have attacked somebody in (the juror’s) family,” said Spence. “And they think, `(He) shot Jennifer’s (mother, brother and nephew) and I’m going to get him.’ “

The defense could ask Burns to bar Hudson from court – possibly on grounds she is a potential witness – which would be a rare but not unheard of request. But Uelmen says the judge would be reluctant to tell a daughter she can’t attend the trial of the man accused of killing her mother.

Hudson’s publicity firm did not respond to requests for comment.

Judges don’t insist jurors be blank slates, they merely want to know if jurors can set aside their biases and preconceptions, said Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Law School Los Angeles.

“You certainly don’t want a juror who hasn’t heard of Jennifer Hudson, for instance,” Levenson said. “That would raise other serious questions, like, where’s this person been living – under a rock?”

Attorneys won’t necessarily share the judge’s goal of weeding out bias.

“The fact is,” Uelmen said, “neither side is looking for unbiased jurors – they’re looking for jurors who lean their way.”

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After announcing the trial and reading the indictment for “People v. Balfour,” Judge Charles Burns asked if anyone would be unable to judge the case fairly without bias and 20 people stood up.

Balfour, 30, was arrested for the October 24, 2008 slayings of Hudson’s mother, Darnell, 57 (pictured bottom left), her older brother, Jason, 29, and her 7-year-old nephew, Julian (pictured bottom right).   All three victims were shot to death.  The Oscar-winning Hudson, whose father had passed away when she was a teen, described herself as extremely close to her family.

When the shootings occurred, Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister Julia, was on parole after spending nearly seven years in prison for attempted murder, vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen vehicle.  Prosecutors speculate that Balfour brutally killed the family members in a fit of jealousy because Julia had been seeing another man.

In order to ensure that trial is not a media circus, jury names will remain under wraps until after the verdict in an effort to keep reporters or others from trying to contact them during the trial.

The judge also warned the potential jurors that they should refrain from engaging in any of the social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.  He advised them that they should avoid reading, listening to or watching the news, and not surf the Internet under any circumstances.  Reporters are also barred from tweeting or posting messages on their Facebook page while inside the courtroom.

The opening statements in Balfour’s trial are scheduled for April 23 when he will face charges of murder.

Assistant State’s Attorney James McKay said the threats began in February 2008, when James Balfour moved out of the family’s house where he had been living with his wife, Hudson’s sister Julia. The threats continued right up until the day the bodies were found, on Oct. 24, 2008.

“He said, `If you ever leave me, I’m going to kill you, but I’m going to kill your family first,’” McKay said at the hearing. “‘You will be the last to die.’”

Friday’s hearing comes about a month before Balfour is scheduled to stand trial in the slayings. Prosecutors allege Balfour shot the family members because he was furious his wife was dating another man. Balfour has pleaded not guilty.

The killings in one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods generated international headlines when the bodies of Hudson’s mother and brother were found in the family’s home and the boy’s body was discovered in an SUV days later.

On the day of the killings, Julia Hudson noticed her estranged husband in an alley beside the home as she was getting ready to head to work and let him inside, McKay said.

The prosecutor said Balfour became enraged when he saw balloons that a new boyfriend had given her and he realized at that point that his marriage was “crumbling.”

“All of this is boiling over and when he sees those balloons it’s time to act,” McKay said.

Julia Hudson worked as a bus driver, and Balfour made one of the threats in person when he got on her bus a month before the killings. He told his wife, “I’m thinking of taking Julian,” said McKay, calling the words a clear threat to kidnap her son from a previous relationship.

Seven-year-old Julian King was one of those killed. The others were Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and brother, Jason Hudson, 29.

Police recovered a gun from bushes near the vehicle in which King’s body was found and have linked it to the shootings.

Jennifer Hudson, who won an Academy Award for best supporting actress in 2007 for her role in “Dreamgirls,” was in Chicago with her family about five days before the killings. She said she’d last been at the family home about two months earlier.

She told investigators she’d known Balfour since childhood and had advised her sister against marrying him. She said the family didn’t find out about their 2006 marriage until months after it happened.

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In a simple black dress, with only a piano serving as accompaniment, Hudson soared through the notes with a control and quiet strength that is typically absent in her powerhouse vocals.

Houston presented Hudson with her first Grammy award in 2009, saying at the time that the distinction  “almost overshadowed getting the Grammy.”

It was reported that Hudson had such a difficult time making it through rehearsal, breaking into tears as she tried to sing the famous lyrics, that Grammy insiders didn’t think she would able to make it through the performance — but she did it and did it well.

See below for Jennifer’s performance:

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Cook County Judge Charles Burns on Thursday set jury selection for April 9 in the trial of William Balfour.

Balfour is charged with first-degree murder in the October 2008 slayings of Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.

Balfour was the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister, Julia. Prosecutors allege he shot her family in a jealous rage because Julia Hudson was dating another man.

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In “I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down,” Hudson shares that her weight loss affected her decision in playing the role.

Apparently, Daniels wanted to cast Hudson, but after losing weight when Dreamgirls wrapped, she just couldn’t stomach the idea of packing on the pounds again to play the downtrodden and abused teen.

Hudson writes: ”I had done that with Effie and as much as I was moved by this film, I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight.”

Read more at Clutch.com

The singer and actress stopped in her home town Tuesday for the opening of “The Weight Watchers Jennifer Hudson Center.” Hudson, who lost about 80 pounds, is a spokeswoman for the company.

The new center, where walls are covered with posters of the svelte star, is in a strip mall on Chicago’s South Side, not far from President Barack Obama’s home.

“I never thought I would make it to have my own center,” said Hudson, who wore a fitted, ruffled black dress and high-heeled studded black boots. “I’m so honored to be here and see this day.”

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Weight Watchers had pledged to donate a portion of the center’s revenue to a foundation that Hudson co-founded in honor of her late nephew, Julian King.

The body of the 7-year-old was found in a vehicle a few days after Hudson’s mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were found dead in the family’s Chicago home in October 2008. All three had been shot. The estranged husband of Hudson’s sister is charged in the killings and is awaiting trial.

Hudson, who started the foundation in Julian’s honor with her sister, Julia, said she was inspired as a child by seeing the success of others.

“I love to target children, because that’s the thing that makes a difference,” Hudson said. “We hope to do the same thing and start here at home in Chicago with health, with education, with dreams.”

Hudson, who first earned fame as an “American Idol” finalist, won a Grammy for her self-titled album and an Oscar for her role in “Dreamgirls.” Her album “I Remember Me,” came out this year.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who attended the ribbon-cutting, called Hudson “Chicago’s ambassador to the world at large.”

NEW ORLEANS — Grammy Award winners Chaka Khan and Jennifer Hudson are joining the 2011 lineup for the Essence Music Festival, which will be held over the Fourth of July holiday weekend in New Orleans.

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Festival officials said Tuesday they’ve also added Kem, Marcia Ambrosius, New Edition, Hal Linton, Eric Benet, Doug E. Fresh, Naughty By Nature and Vanessa Bell Armstrong to the roster of artists scheduled to perform in the Louisiana Superdome.

Earlier, Michelle Ebanks, president of Essence Communications Inc., announced a group of headliners for the festival, including Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz, Jill Scott and Kanye West.

The event, now in its 17th year, started in 1995 to mark the 25th anniversary of Essence magazine and has since grown into a major national venue celebrating black culture and R&B music.

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SOUTH AFRICA – Jennifer Hudson prepared for her upcoming role in the movie “Winnie” about South African civil rights leader and wife of former President, Nelson Mandela by sleeping in a South African prison similar to the one where Winnie Mandela spent 500 days.

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Essence reports:

While locked in her cell, Hudson’s camera crew shot scenes of her confinement to depict the 500-plus days Winnie Mandela was imprisoned. By the third day, the actress said her hair was tangled, her eyes had sunken in, and she began hallucinating imaginary conversations with her son.

Read The Whole Story

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At the Staples Center, Lil Wayne entered the evening with the most nominations with eight, and went home with four, including rap album of the year.

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Jennifer Hudson provided the night’s most emotional moments onstage. The Oscar winner took her first Grammy award _ for best R&B album _ for her self-titled debut.

CHECK OUT A GRAMMY GALLERY

Hudson, 27, made no direct reference to the October killings of her mother, brother and nephew that kept her in seclusion until just this month. But while fighting back tears, she made it clear that her family was foremost on her mind.

“I first would like to thank God who has brought me through. I would like to thank my family in heaven and those who are with me today.

Hudson later performed “You Pulled Me Through,” a dramatic song about overcoming deep despair, with the lyrics: “When I was drowning, when I was so confused, you, you pulled me through.” As she sang the last note, she looked directly into the camera and dissolved into tears once again.

The Grammy telecast was filled with eye-popping and eyebrow-raising performances, from Radiohead’s collaboration with a college marching band to a televised black-and-white throwback performance from Jay-Z, T.I., Lil Wayne, Kanye West and a (very) pregnant M.I.A. on “Swagga Like Us.”

Watch Jay-Z, T.I., Lil Wayne, and Kanye West Perform Swagga Like Us

But not even these could patch up the gaping hole in the telecast caused by the absences of Brown and Rihanna. She was supposed to sing “Live Your Life/Disturbia” as the second performance of the night, he was later to sing “Forever.”

And each was nominated in the pop collaboration with vocals category, Brown for “No Air” with “American Idol” champion Jordin Sparks; and Rihanna for “If I Never See Your Face Again” with Maroon 5. Brown was also nominated for male R&B vocal performance for “Take You Down.”

Neither won a Grammy on Sunday, and the Recording Academy found able replacements for their performance slots in Justin Timberlake, Al Green, Boyz II Men and Keith Urban as they all sang Green’s classic hit, “Let’s Stay Together.” No mention was made on the broadcast about the switch.

Around the same time, Lil Wayne won the first Grammys of his career for “Tha Carter III,” which took the 26-year-old rap veteran to from rap to pop MVP. It wasn’t entirely his fault for not sweeping all eight of his nominations: he was competing against himself in two categories in which he won.

Watch Lil Wayne’s Grammy Acceptance Speech

Besides rap album, he won best rap solo performance for “A Milli,” rap song for “Lollipop” and rap/sung collaboration for “Swagga Like Us.”

Coldplay won three, included song of the year for “Viva La Vida.”

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“We’ve never had so many Grammys in our life,” said lead singer Chris Martin, perhaps so excited he got confused (they had already won four over the years). “We feel so grateful to be here. I’m going to tear up.”

Hudson, who has repeatedly declined to talk publicly about the killings, didn’t directly address the details of the October 2008 slayings in Chicago of her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. But in an interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” that was broadcast Thursday, she discussed the source of the drive that quickly got her back on stage and in the recording studio just months after the tragedy.

“I try to do everything to say, ‘OK, will my mother like this? Will she be pleased? Will she be proud of that? How do I know she’s happy and she’s smiling down at me from heaven?’” Hudson said. “And that’s what I try to go by and walk by.”

Shedding tears, Hudson said she could hear the voices of her brother and mother telling her to “knock it off,” stop crying and keep going.

In October 2008, the bodies of her mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were found in the family’s Chicago home.

The body of her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found days later in a sport utility vehicle about 10 miles away. All three had been shot.

The estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister, Julia, is charged with first-degree murder in the killings.

Hudson, 29, said she doesn’t know if she’s started to heal yet.

“It’s such a shocking thing,” she said. “It’s a lot to take in. It’s like, ‘OK, is this real? Did this really happen?’ It’s hard to put it in sync with reality.”

Her son, born in August 2009, is a source of strength, she said, and “the cutest little baby in the whole wide world.”

Hudson performed her new single, “Where You At,” and talked about how she lost 80 pounds by resolving to get in shape after childbirth.

Three of Hudson’s cousins – a bus driver, a teacher and a medical administrator – joined her on the show to talk about their own weight loss and model clothes chosen for them by “Project Runway” host Tim Gunn.

Hudson, a spokeswoman for Weight Watchers, credited the program and her determination for her weight loss. Winfrey announced that audience members at the show each would get three free one-year memberships to Weight Watchers so they could sign up with two friends.

Hudson said her fiance, David Otunga, has had trouble adjusting to the attention other men are paying to her since she dropped from a size 16 to a size 6.

“It’s like a brand new me,” Hudson said. “Sometimes I don’t even recognize myself.”

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Hollywood (AceShowBiz)– Film Bridge International has released a trailer for “Winnie” which follows Winnie Mandela, the wife of South African leader Nelson Mandela, who is portrayed by Jennifer Hudson. It will capture her life from her meeting with Nelson to how she survived throughout the years when her husband was imprisoned and she was accused of misconduct.

The movie will not focus on the sometimes negative press she received, but on the very powerful love story that kept Winnie and Nelson Mandela together for years. Darrell J. Roodt serves behind the lens for the film which production was kicked off earlier this year in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Robben Island.

Terrence Howard stars opposite Hudson as Nelson Mandela with Elias Koteas and Wendy Crewson landing other roles. The drama is expected to be released sometime in 2011.

VIDEO:

Read entire article at AceShowBiz.com

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From NYDailyNews.com:

There was a new police camera high above 45th St. and Seventh on Sunday, southwest corner, a few yards from where Faisal Shahzad, who clearly did not graduate first in his class at bomb school, had left the Nissan Pathfinder a week ago, waiting for it to go off. The camera was at the top of a white crane, the whole thing known as a skybox. What it saw Sunday was the life of Times Square and the life of the city returning to normal.

Or what passes for normal now in New York.

“You really want normal?” a young cop named Rainero, out of the 6th Precinct, West Village, was saying. “Go back to Sept. 10, 2001.”

Click here to view photos:
Vintage Oprah Through The Years

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There was more police presence than usual on this Sunday morning, the second Sunday morning after Faisal Shahzad, who waited for the car he bought for cash over the Internet to blow a hole in the heart of New York. Only on this day, Mother’s Day 2010, a cold, brittle, sunlit day, it wasn’t a would-be terrorist bringing extra cops to Times Square, it was Oprah Winfrey.

The full name of the event was Oprah’s Live Your Best Life Walk, and the people in it started at Pier 86 and would eventually end up here in Times Square. And though it was partly a celebration of Oprah herself, and the 10th anniversary of her magazine, there were 10 different charities that would benefit from the event. So it was all right.

Click here to read more.

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From BlackVoices.com:

Terrence Howard has been tapped to play opposite Jennifer Hudson as South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela in the movie titled ‘‘Winnie.’ The Academy Award winning ‘Dreamgirls’ star was previously announced in the lead role of Winnie Mandela.

Click here to view photos:
Black Hollywood

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The film will be directed by Darrell J. Roodt, from a script based on the Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob biography ‘Winnie Mandela:A Life,’ Variety reported.

Howard is the most recent actor to play the South African leader: Morgan Freemanreceived an Oscar nomination earlier this year for playing Mandela in Clint Eastwood‘s 2009 rugby film ‘Invictus’; Danny Glover played the politician in the 1987 TV movie ‘Mandela.’

The ‘Hustle & Flow’ actor was last seen in the action film, ‘Fighting,’ and played the role of Jim Rhodes/ War Machine in ‘Iron Man’ before being replaced by Don Cheadle. His next big role is in the Tuskegee Airmen film ‘Red Tails,’ which is being produced by George Lucas.

Click here to read more.

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]]> http://newsone.com/512902/terrence-howard-to-play-nelson-mandela-opposite-j-hud/feed/ 7 Terrence Howard To Play Nelson Mandela Opposite J. Hud (thumbnail) ionesfontaine jennifer_hudson The real Nelson & Winnie Mandela http://newsone.com/423822/jennifer-hudson-will-perform-for-obamas-civil-rights-celebration/ http://newsone.com/423822/jennifer-hudson-will-perform-for-obamas-civil-rights-celebration/#comments Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:23:06 +0000 cganemccalla http://newsone.com/?p=423822 ]]>

From USA Today

Next month, Bob Dylan, who is still cranking out great songs, performs at the White House as part of a music series sponsored by first lady Michelle Obama.

The theme of the Feb. 10 concert is very personal for both Obamas: “A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.”

In addition to Dylan, scheduled performers include Natalie Cole, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, John Mellencamp, Smokey Robinson, Seal, the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Howard University Choir.

Morgan Freeman and Queen Latifah will emcee the event, which will feature readings from celebrated speeches and other writings of the civil rights era.

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From the Telegraph:

Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife Winnie is threatening legal action against the makers of a biographical film about her starring Jennifer Hudson.

The film is likely to detail the fraud, kidnapping and murder controversies that have surrounded the anti-apartheid leader’s former wife.

Mrs Madikizela-Mandela, as she has been known since her divorce from Mr Mandela in 1996, is one of South Africa’s most controversial and divisive figures.

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She is revered in some quarters as the “Mother of the Nation” for her role in the struggle, the harassment she suffered from the white authorities, and her populist rhetoric that still appeals to South Africa’s poor.

But for others she is reviled. She once notoriously declared that “with our boxes of matches and our necklaces, we shall liberate this country”, referring to the preferred way of killing suspected informers in the townships, setting fire to a petrol-filled tyre around their necks, so ensuring an agonising death.

Under apartheid she was convicted of kidnapping Stompie Moeketsi, 14, who was later found beaten to death in Soweto, and long after the advent of democracy, she was convicted of more than 40 charges of fraud in 2003 – her prison sentence was replaced with a suspended term on appeal.

Click here to read more.

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WASHINGTON — It’ll be a dreamy entertainment lineup for the first state dinner of the Obama White House: singer Jennifer Hudson is set to perform Tuesday night.

Hudson, who won an Academy Award for her role in the movie “Dreamgirls,” is part of a larger lineup that also includes Indian performers, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the dinner won’t be announced until later in the day.

The dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (MAHN’-moh-hahn SING)is being held in a tent on the South Lawn of the White House to allow the Obamas to invite hundreds more guests than could squeeze into the East Room, which tops out at 140 people.

The dinner is the hottest ticket in town.

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From Chicagoist.com:

Exactly one year ago today, the bodies of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, 57, and her brother, Jason Hudson, 29, were discovered inside their home on the South Side. Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found a few days after in a car on the West Side 10 miles away from his home. All three victims had been shot to death. William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson’s sister, Julia, was charged for the killings with first-degree murder, allegedly killing the three family members because he was upset that Julia was dating someone else. Balfour pleaded not guilty and is still in jail.

Although Hudson has repeatedly declined interview requests to talk about the killings, she has returned to Chicago since last October, performing her song “Spotlight” on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” last month. In just a few weeks, Hudson will visit Chicago again to film an ABC prime-time special titled “Jennifer Hudson: I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” which is scheduled to air in December, and will show Hudson’s old neighborhood and the church where she started singing.

Hudson is also busy focusing on her new son, David, named for her fiancé Daniel David Otunga. In a recent interview, Hudson told reporters that she can’t wait to see “who he becomes, who he takes after, what he decides to do, [and] if he’ll sing.”

To read more, click here.

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From The Chicago Sun-Times

It’s a dreamboy!

Academy Award-winner and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson gave birth to a baby boy Monday night, according to a blog at the Web site Hollywood Reporter.

The boy — named David Daniel Otunga Jr., after his father, Hudson’s fiancee — weighed in at a healthy seven pounds, 14 ounces, the Web site said.

Read The Whole Story

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