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Meeker may testify in Stewart case
Transcripts show the Internet analyst could be called to appear as witness in Martha Stewart's trial
January 22, 2004: 2:10 PM EST
By Meghan Collins, CNN/Money Staff Writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Morgan Stanley Internet analyst Mary Meeker may be among the witnesses to testify in the Martha Stewart obstruction of justice case, a transcript from the second day of the final phase of jury selection indicated.

The transcript shows one potential juror being dismissed due to connections to Meeker, who helped bring Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia public through her role at Morgan Stanley in 1999, and other potential witnesses.

Meeker rose to financial-industry stardom during the Internet boom, encouraging investors to buy up shares of companies that eventually took off.

According to Wednesday's transcript, government attorney Karen Patton Seymour said, "Based on (the potential juror's) connections with some witnesses in the case, we would move for cause on this juror, your Honor."

U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum responded, "Let me take a look at that (juror questionnaire). Mary Meeker seems to be a very well-known person."

Click here for more on the Martha Stewart trial

Seymour also told the judge that she may call stock analysts for information regarding the price of ImClone shares, but that she didn't expect to call Meeker, instead saying she may submit a report by her, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

But Robert Morvillo, an attorney for the defense, said he may ask Meeker to take the stand, the report said.

Morgan Stanley officials declined to comment on the situation.

Stewart appeared in court again Thursday morning as the jury selection process continued. Her trial, which could start as early as next week, is expected to be the most closely watched of the trials of corporate executives so far.

Stewart, 62, is charged with crimes stemming from her sale of nearly 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems (IMCL: Research, Estimates) stock in 2001, a day before the stock tumbled after the government rejected the company's application for approval of an experimental cancer drug.

The criminal charges against Stewart include conspiracy, obstruction of justice and securities fraud. Her co-defendant and former broker Peter Bacanovic has been charged with conspiracy, making false statements and perjury.

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Questioning of prospective jurors was to continue Thursday, with Judge Cedarbaum and attorneys for the defense and government weighing their ability to be fair and impartial.

The judge and attorneys for both sides have had trouble finding prospective jurors who are unaware of the case, and have resorted to questioning whether they have already formed opinions about the guilt or innocence of the defendants, transcripts of the first two days of the final phase of jury selection show.

Several potential jurors have been released from duty due to personal reasons, including one who had already booked a flight to Los Angeles to go to the NBA All-Star game with his family.

The judge and attorneys also had a lengthy discussion about one prospective juror who answered that he thought some stockbrokers were dishonest, and that some defense lawyers had to argue cases that they didn't fully believe in -- before the judge put him back into the pool, asking him to come back Monday.

One prospective juror was questioned about his stock in Merrill Lynch, Bacanovic's former company. Another was asked about having been rejected for a job in the legal department at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, and whether it would affect her judgment in the case.

"I didn't get the job, but I don't think I would hold that against anybody," the prospective juror said, according to the transcript.

The original group of potential jurors has been cut by 75 percent, after a larger pool was narrowed based on a stack of questionnaires filled out earlier at a Manhattan courthouse.

A group of media outlets, with the help of lawyer David Schultz, has appealed an order from Judge Cedarbaum barring them from covering the jury selection in the courtroom. Oral arguments on the appeal are set for Monday morning.  Top of page




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