Apple vs. Qualcomm Jury Includes Retired MLB Pitcher and Woman Who's Never Owned a Smartphone

Apple's high-profile trial against chipmaker Qualcomm kicked off in San Diego federal court on Monday with jury selection.


Among the nine jurors selected are a former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, a woman who has never owned a smartphone, a retired clinical psychologist, a pilot, an accountant, a retired nurse, and an environmental consultant, according to reports from CNET and Bloomberg.

Opening statements will be heard today. Apple has accused Qualcomm of anticompetitive business practices by way of demanding excessive patent royalties, while Qualcomm alleges that Apple manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron, and Compal owe it more than $7.5 billion in unpaid royalties.

Apple already won a preliminary judgment ordering Qualcomm to pay nearly $1 billion in withheld rebates last month.

Qualcomm has already faced scrutiny from antitrust regulators in multiple countries, including the United States, where an FTC lawyer said "evidence is overwhelming that Qualcomm engaged in exclusionary conduct, and the effects of Qualcomm's conduct, when considered together, are anticompetitive."

Amidst the legal battle, Apple dropped Qualcomm as a supplier of cellular modems starting with last year's iPhone XS, ‌iPhone XS‌ Max, and iPhone XR, switching to Intel for all modems in those devices.