Sanitation worker, day trader among jurors selected in trial of Dewey leaders
A jury of seven women and five men in Manhattan will consider the criminal charges against three former leaders of Dewey & LeBoeuf.
Jury selection wrapped up on Friday in the trial of former Dewey chairman Steven Davis, former executive director Stephen DiCarmine and former chief financial officer Joel Sanders, the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) reports. The three men are accused of misleading investors and banks before the law firm collapsed. The trial will begin on May 26 and could continue until the fall.
Jurors and alternates include a bus driver, a Web designer, a day trader, a sanitation worker, a respiratory technician, several retirees and at least one unemployed person, according to the Am Law Daily account. Earlier coverage by the Wall Street Journal Law Blog said jurors also include a law firm receptionist and a supermarket deli clerk.
Potential jurors filled out initial questionnaires seeking information on whether they could sit for a lengthy trial. After some winnowing, about 200 potential jurors filled out second questionnaires asking whether they had ever filed for bankruptcy, supervised others or fired anyone.
Additional questions posed by prosecutors included whether banks and insurance companies could be considered victims of crime, and whether someone who directed others to commit a crime could be criminally responsible.
Defense lawyers asked potential jurors whether:
• They had any experience in which an employee did something wrong and then put the blame on his or her boss.
• They had any bias against lawyers, accountants or high-earning people.
• They could find some defendants guilty and some not guilty.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Dewey trial expected to be ‘long legal slog’; what type of jurors will defense seek?”
ABA Journal: “How Dewey management’s rosy picture masked an ugly truth”
