SF Sheriff's Wife Adds Intrigue to Upcoming Trial Venezuelan actress Eliana Lopez has become a symbol in a domestic violence case that has cast a shadow across the career of her husband - San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. Jury selection is getting under way in the domestic violence trial of the embattled Mirkarimi, who faces misdemeanor charges that he grabbed and bruised the arm of Lopez in front of their toddler son on New Year's Eve. Nearly 200 prospective jurors were expected to file into a courtroom Monday in a trial that has attracted international attention. Less than two years after moving to the United States, Lopez, a former Latin American telenovela star, blogged about her hopes and aspirations for her new, simpler life as a wife and mother, far from the bright lights of TV and movies. Lopez was excited about living in San Francisco - "a beautiful and avant-garde city where millions of interesting people make things happen every day," - raising her son with Mirkarimi, and teaching bilingual mother-and-baby dance classes. FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2012 file photo, San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi talks with reporters while leaving Superior Court in San Francisco. Jury selection is scheduled to get under way Monday, March 5, 2012, in the domestic violence trial of the embattled sheriff, who faces misdemeanor charges that he grabbed and bruised the arm of his wife, Venezuelan actress Eliana Lopez, in front of their toddler son on New Year's Eve. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File) Close Back in the spotlight, Lopez has become a symbol for anti-domestic violence advocates and the central figure in a case that has already separated her family and threatens her husband's political career. Then Lopez's lawyers argued unsuccessfully against admissibility of the video after prosecutors released photo images from it showing an emotional Lopez with a noticeable bruise on her arm. Lopez's attorneys appealed, and on Friday a judge put a hold on using the video until he rules on its admissibility. But the judge left in place an order requiring the sheriff to stay away from Lopez, although he recently has been allowed to see his son. Lopez is dejected that the case is going forward, said Paula Canny, one of her lawyers.