In what media commentators have dubbed the "trial of the century," eight people will appear at the Old Bailey in London for the start of up to four months of hearings on a scandal that shook the British establishment and rocked Murdoch's media empire and the entire British newspaper industry.
The charges range from illegally hacking the mobile phone voicemails of more than 600 victims including a murdered schoolgirl and celebrities such as Paul McCartney, plus bribing public officials for stories and hiding evidence.
The trial is expected to hear explosive testimony about the scandal that forced Australian-born Murdoch to shut down the weekly tabloid News of the World in disgrace in 2011, and threatened to drag in PM David Cameron's government.
The trial will formally open on Monday but the prosecution's opening statement is expected to be delayed by the selection of a jury and by legal arguments. The main players are Brooks, the flame-haired former chief executive of Murdoch's British newspaper operations, and Coulson, the journalist-turned-medialynchpin for Cameron. Brooks, 45, who rose from a secretary to edit the News of the World and its daily sister paper The Sun while becoming one of Murdoch's closest confidantes, denies phonehacking , conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office , and perverting the course of justice.
Brooks's racehorse trainer husband Charlie, 50, her personal assistant Cheryl Carter, 49, and former News International security chief Mark Hanna, 50, deny obstructing justice along with Brooks herself by concealing evidence in the frantic last days of the News of the World.
Coulson, 45, a formerNews of the World editor, denies hacking and paying officials for a Buckingham Palace phone directory with the royal family's contact details.
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