BRECKENRIDGE, Colo. -- The trial of an Australian man charged with assault for hitting a woman with a snowball is moving forward.

Sixty-two people were called Thursday to the Summit County Justice Center to be questioned before prosecutors and defense attorneys narrowed the pool to 12.

Andrew Thistleton, 21, is charged with third-degree assault and harassment after allegedly throwing the snowball at Michelle Oehlert on Feb. 4 near the employee housing complex at the Copper Mountain Ski resort.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert has said the object Thistleton allegedly threw was more like an ice ball than a snowball.

Oehlert told police she was walking to the bus stop when Thistleton and two other people began taunting her. Hurlbert said Oehlert's back was turned when the snowball struck her on the side. Oehlert said she felt pain due to a prior injury from a car accident.

A witness, Nathan Sparks told deputies that Thistleton threw the snowball, but "not in a harmful way." Police said Thistleton told them he threw the snowball and offered to apologize, but he denied saying anything offensive to Oehlert.

Thistleton pleaded not guilty in July. He has flown from Australia to Colorado for the trial, said his lawyer, Lisa Moses.

She called the case case "insane" and "a waste of taxpayers' time," according to the Sydney Daily Telegraph. Australian newspapers are covering the story because Thistleton is a Sydney University student who was working at Copper as a seasonal employee.

Many residents in Breckenridge feel the same way.

"I don't feel a snowball is a weapon. We've gone over the top with lawsuits," said one woman.

"I think it's ridiculous. That's what snow is for," said one man.

"That sounds like a snowball fight to me," another man said.

Prosecutors disagree.

"This was not a snowball fight. Snowball fights happen everyday in Summit County from October to May," Hurlbert said. "We don't generally prosecute for this. This was an ambush. And somebody was hurt."

The case has had so much attention that a gag order was issued to ensure a fair trail.

Three media outlets in Australia are covering the case.