FARGO, N.D. -- Jury selection in the trial of Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., was halted before it began today when U.S. District judge Ralph Erickson told the court that the sample from which the first 15 prospective jurors were to be called was not sufficiently random.

He said the "glitch" would be fixed and jury selection would begin Friday morning.

Today was to be the first day of jury selection in the trial of Rodriguez, 53, who is accused of kidnapping Dru Sjodin of Pequot Lakes in a mall parking lot in Grand Forks, N.D. on Nov. 22, 2003. He allegedly took her across the Red River into Minnesota and killing her after hours of torture and terror. Sjodin's body was found in a ravine west of Crookston on April 17, 2004.

Sjodin's parents said they weren't particularly upset by the yet another delay.

"I don't think the day matters, " said Allan Sjodin. "The procedure needs to be right. They were gracious in their explanations of what happened."

"We have one misson -- justice for her," he said. "That's the way it's always been."

Linda Walker, Dru Sjodin's mother, said after she left the courthouse that she was " tense, anxious of course."

Erickson said the way the first 15 perspective jurors were chosen was "no longer random" because it picked 15 people from the same Zip Code or county --the Valley City, N.D. area. The judge said that was a "possible violation of the Constitution and clearly a violation of the way the jury should be selected."

"I'm sorry it wasn't caught earlier," he said. "We noticed it yesterday and have been working on it. I take responsibility for it ultimately."

Rodriguez and his attorneys and the U.S. attorneys were called into Erickson's chambers at 9 a.m., the time jury selection was scheduled to begin. They were in chambers for about an hour before returning to their places in the courtroom. Then Erickson announced: "We have a problem."

He said jury selection should start with a list of all people eligible for jury duty, and that was done. The jury will be chosen from residents of the southeastern N.D. district.

A smaller group of about 1,200 people was drawn by random selection using a computer model. An additional 300 to 400 potential jurors were added bring the total to 1,500-1,600 potential jurors.

That larger group answered a questionnaire, and some were excused. That resulted in a jury pool of about 590. Rather calling in all of those people at once, groups of 15 would be called to be questioned by defense and prosecuting attorneys.

The problem arose when the first group of 15 were drawn from a list that had been reconfigured by Zip Code or county -- Erickson wasn't sure which -- resulting in a starting group that was 'no longer random," Erickson said. The 15 jurors were at the courthouse today.

Earlier today, defense attorneys Robert Hoy and Richard Ney entered the courthouse without speaking to reporters this morning.

Sjodin's parents, Walker of Pequot Lakes and Sjodin, of Minneapolis, arrived together with Bob Heales, the family friend and private investigator who helped with the search for Sjodin after she disappeared.

They have attended all the pretrial hearings.

Allan Sjodin declined to discuss the trial as he entered the courthouse except to say that he felt "tension" about the trial.