O.J. trial: Quick decisions and applause

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/09/10/art.ojcourt.jpg caption= "O.J. Simpson talks with Deputy Marshal Doug Hale in a courtroom after jury selection for his trial." ]
Editor’s Note: O.J. Simpson arrived Monday for the start of his trial on robbery and kidnapping charges nearly a year after police arrested him in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prosecutors say Simpson and five other men stormed into a Las Vegas hotel room last September 13 to recover sports memorabilia that Simpson said belonged to him. They say at least two men with Simpson had guns as they robbed two sports memorabilia dealers. The following dispatches come from our Paul Vercammen covering the trial.

Paul Vercammen
CNN Senior Producer

3:52pm PT:

In a Las Vegas courtroom for the O.J. Simpson kidnapping and armed robbery trial, it’s 22 down and 18 to go in the jury selection process.
Judge Jackie Glass called a break after three more potential jurors were passed through or qualified for selection to the final panel.
When Glass and the attorneys passed through a female inventory specialist in less than five minutes, jurors applauded politely for the quickest decision on a juror thus far in the trial.
For the second day in a row, the judge excused a juror who strongly felt Simpson should have been convicted of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
Moments before his dismissal, the white male in the carpet cleaning business told the court he felt Simpson was guilty.

5:00pm PT:

Judge Jackie Glass told potential jurors in O.J. Simpson's robbery and kidnapping trial to go home an hour early because they made progress in the jury selection.

Glass and lawyers passed through 15 juror candidates Wednesday, bringing the total of qualified potential jurors to 27 of the 40 needed in the eligible pool.

Eight of the 27 are men.

So far there's just one African American potential juror, a female teacher who suffers from a bad back and could still be excused.

During the break a jovial Simpson talked outside the courtroom about golf and college football. Simpson said he has fun watching games with fans of rival teams. "They tease me and I tease them," said the former USC running back.

Deliberations resume tomorrow at 8 a.m.