Monday was M?tley justice day in Los Angeles, as ex-M?tley Cr?e drummer Tommy Lee faced trial in one area courtroom, and frontman Vince Neil was sentenced in another.

First, finding a jury of Lee's peers proved tough--after all, this is a guy who once banged heads as a multimillion-selling Cr?e-man and called both Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear the missus.

Lee's trial in the wrongful-death case, brought by the parents of a young boy who drowned during a party at the rocker's home, kicked off Monday morning in a Santa Monica courtroom with what was supposed to be a quick pick of jurors. Attorneys had figured the panel would be seated by lunch, allowing the legal types to get into their opening arguments by afternoon.

But jury selection dragged on to early afternoon, before both sides settled on a panel. The case will resume Tuesday morning at 10:30, with some pretrial motions followed by the opening arguments.

Television producer James Veres and actress Ursula Karven are suing Lee, claiming he failed to properly supervise their four-year-old son, Daniel Karven-Veres, who was found floating face-down in the shallow end of a backyard pool at Lee's Malibu estate on June 16, 2001. The tragedy occurred during a fifth birthday bash for Lee's oldest son with Anderson and Daniel's playmate, Brandon.

The Los Angeles County coroner ultimately determined Daniel died by asphyxia by drowning but ruled the death accidental. No criminal charges were filed against the Methods of Mayhem frontman.

However, a grief-stricken Veres and Karven, who were not at the party, blame Lee for failing to have someone on hand trained in emergency CPR, which they contend could have resuscitated their son.

According to court papers, the boy was unconscious when he was found floating amid a throng of floating toys and an inflatable pool chair. After pulling his limp body out of the water, two partygoers attempted CPR, while Lee frantically called 911. But Daniel was pronounced dead after being rushed to a nearby hospital.

A publicist for the 40-year-old rocker subsequently released a statement saying Lee was "devastated" by this "tragic accident."

Lee, who is expected to testify during the trial, later said it wasn't his fault. He blames two nannies--the boy's nanny Christian Weihs, who left the party early to go to a concert, and a second nanny, Judith Zeihm, who purportedly then agreed to watch the boy. (A judge rejected Lee's motion to have Zeihm added to the suit as a codefendant, due to lack of evidence.)

"I was watching my boy," Lee told a reporter last year. "I can't watch somebody else's kid, and it's really not my responsibility."

James Veres, though, wasn't buying Lee's line.

"It was a birthday party like a million other birthday parties, and, obviously, there wasn't enough help at the pool," Veres told a Los Angeles radio station days after the accident. "It's inexcusable and just amazing to me."

Lee had reportedly hoped to reach a settlement with the boy's parents but was thwarted by his insurance company, which would rather see the matter play out in court than pay the more than $1 million in damages Veres and Karven are believed to be seeking. The New York Daily News has reported the couple will demand more than $160 million during the trial.

Lee, who announced his engagement to singer-dancer (and Prince's ex) Mayte Garcia last August, has recently put his home up for sale, hoping to fetch a cool $3 million. Also softening any potential blow to Lee's pocketbook, should the jury vote against him, is the $740,000 in damages he won last year from the adult Website that hawked his infamous sex tapes from his and Anderson's honeymoon.

Meanwhile, as Lee cooled his heels in Santa Monica, his former M?tley running mate Vince Neil was on the business end of some justice in Beverly Hills.

Neil pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from a slugfest outside a Sunset Strip club last year.

The Cr?e crooner, who wasn't in court and entered the plea through his lawyer, must complete 100 hours of community service and pay restitution for punching music producer Michael Schuman.

Neil, recently seen playing house with Corey Feldman, Emmanuel Lewis and MC Hammer in the WB reality series The Surreal Life, apparently had never met Schuman (whose musical work tends toward Little Richard, Pat Boone, the Jacksons and Stevie Wonder) before the attack outside the Rainbow Room on April 28. Schuman, who purportedly was knocked to the ground, suffered a fractured elbow in the incident, according to his lawyer.

In September, Neil, 42, had pleaded not guilty to the attack.

The supposedly reformed bad-boy singer, the subject of an arrest warrant in the case last summer, could not be reached for comment Monday. Prosecutors say he will also complete a diversion program and is due in court in one year for any additional sentencing.