NEW YORK • It’s taken just three days to seat a jury of 12 people in the tax fraud trial of Donald Trump’s company — surprising even some people involved in the case who thought it would take at least a week to find an impartial panel in heavily Democratic New York City.

Five of the jurors were sworn in Thursday, joining seven who were picked Tuesday. Six alternates still need to be seated. That process is beginning anew Thursday and Friday with a second pool of potential jurors, but lawyers say they’re on track for opening statements on Monday.

The four men and eight women selected emerged from an exacting process, including a 32-part questionnaire and one-on-one questioning, designed to sift out candidates with immutable opinions about the Republican former president and his company, the Trump Organization.

The selected jurors were among the least vocal about Trump. Some admitted that they had opinions about him and his leadership, but vowed to set aside any personal thoughts and consider only evidence presented during the trial, which is taking place in state court in Manhattan.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has said the case — involving allegations that the Trump Organization helped some top executives avoid income taxes on compensation they got in addition to their salaries — will likely take about six weeks, meaning it could end in December.

Trump isn’t on trial and he isn’t expected to testify, but his name is sure to come up a lot.

Trump signed some checks at issue in the case. His name appears on memos and other evidence. Another company lawyer, Alan Futerfas, said he expected some witnesses will testify about conversations they’ve had with Trump.

Trump Organization lawyer William Brennan referred to the absent Trump as the “mist in the room.”