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NOTICE OF FILING OF OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT of… — NOTICE OF FILING OF OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT of Proceedings as to… (Dkt. 57)
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2024-06-03 |
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York · No. 1:22-cr-00020-FB · Doc. 57 · 2024-06-03 · Docket on CourtListener
Summary
Transcript of criminal cause for jury selection held June 3, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. in United States of America v. Anuli Okeke, 22-CR-00020(FB)(RML), before the Honorable Robert M. Levy, United States Magistrate Judge, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. It is Document 57, stamped filed September 27, 2024, and runs to 266 pages. Adam Amir, Chand W. Edwards-Balfour, Jennifer Bilinkas and F. Turner Buford appear for the government and Sanford Talkin and Noam Greenspan for the defendant. An opening sidebar in the jury room covers logistics: an estimate of about two weeks for the case, whether there will be two or three alternates, and a set of proposed voir dire questions combining the government's and the defense's requests. The proceedings conclude at 5:24 p.m., with trial to begin June 10, 2024.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Full text
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
------------------------------x
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
-against-
22-CR-00020(FB)(RML)
United States Courthouse
Brooklyn, New York
June 3, 2024
9:30 a.m.
ANULI OKEKE,
Defendant.
------------------------------x
TRANSCRIPT OF CRIMINAL CAUSE FOR JURY SELECTION
PROSPECTIVE JURORS PRESENT
BEFORE THE HONORABLE ROBERT M. LEVY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
APPEARANCES
For the Government:
BREON S. PEACE, ESQ.
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
Eastern District of New York
271 Cadman Plaza East
Brooklyn, New York 11201
BY: ADAM AMIR, ESQ.
CHAND W. EDWARDS-BALFOUR, ESQ.
JENNIFER BILINKAS, ESQ.
F. TURNER BUFORD, ESQ.
Assistant United States Attorneys
For the Defendant:
TALKIN, MUCCIGROSSO & ROBERTS LLP
40 Exchange Place, 18th Floor
New York, New York 10005
BY: SANFORD TALKIN, ESQ.
NOAM GREENSPAN, ESQ.
Also Present:
ANULI OKEKE, DEFENDANT
Court Reporter:
AVERY N. ARMSTRONG, RPR, NYRCR
Phone: 718-613-2419
Fax: 718-613-2639
Email: Aarm.edny@gmail.com
Proceedings recorded by mechanical stenography. Transcript
produced by computer-aided transcription.
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SIDEBAR CONFERENCE
(In open court; Prospective Jurors not present.)
THE COURT: So would counsel like to come to the
jury room.
(The following occurred at sidebar in the Jury
Room.)
THE COURT: Good morning, everyone. So I thought
we'd spend just a couple of minutes figuring out logistics.
How long is the case going to last?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: About two weeks, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Two weeks?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We're hoping that it will be
less, but I think telling them two weeks would be the best
thing.
MR. AMIR: And does Ms. Okeke waive her presence
here? I just want to make sure.
MR. TALKIN: I thought the judge said he only wanted
to see the parties --
THE COURT: Did you want -- Counsel --
MR. TALKIN: I'm happy to waive her appearance. I
thought it was administrative stuff.
THE COURT: Totally is. Nothing substantive is
happening at the moment.
Is the Court meeting every day or taking Fridays
off?
MR. TALKIN: As of now. Judge said he was going to
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play it by ear, but to say that.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. So it's two alternates; is that
correct?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We were thinking maybe three.
THE COURT: I think you requested two.
Did you talk to Mike about that?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We did not talk to Mike about
that.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. AMIR: It's always good to have an extra in case
someone gets sick, so we don't have to start over.
THE COURT: So the request from all sides is three
alternates?
MR. TALKIN: It doesn't matter to us. Whatever the
Court wants to do.
THE COURT: It's really up to Judge Block, though.
MR. TALKIN: Correct. Whatever Judge Block wants to
do.
THE COURT: He requested two, but if you feel more
comfortable with three. Okay.
I received proposed statement of the case from the
Government.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
THE COURT: Has the defense seen that?
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MR. TALKIN: Yes.
THE COURT: Any problems with it?
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Any problems with the proposed
voir dire request?
MR. TALKIN: We also had our -- we also filed a
proposed voir dire request.
THE COURT: For some reason, they didn't get to me.
When did you file them?
MR. GREENSPAN: A long time -- a week, so probably
the 24th, Friday.
MR. AMIR: I have a copy. This is the
defendant's --
THE COURT: Is there anything you object to?
MR. AMIR: No, I think this is fine. I think we
also -- ours is a little shorter. And there's a couple of
questions we would insist on such as making sure that the
jurors are comfortable with cooperator testimony. That would
be a key aspect.
THE COURT: So, in other words, we can use the
defense's proposed voir dire with -- let's start with
cooperators.
So we're talking about Paragraph 14 on Page Four?
Do you need a minute to look at that?
MR. TALKIN: Fourteen, cooperating witnesses. Of
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course it's the longest question.
MR. AMIR: I think there's some things we would want
to include, as well. If there's only one subset of the loan
program and not the EIDL program, so I think ours is probably
a little bit more comprehensive on that score.
THE COURT: Which paragraph are you looking at?
MR. AMIR: So this would be paragraph four of the
defense, omits reference to the employee income program, the
EIDL program, the separate program we allege that was
defrauded.
MR. TALKIN: I thought I added that somewhere. I
must have missed that.
MR. AMIR: And also, the defense one doesn't have
the comprehensive list of names and places. So I think it
might be a little safer to use ours.
Is there anything you guys object to in ours?
MR. TALKIN: We don't object, but I think there's a
lot in --
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Maybe if we can signal -- if
we can highlight which ones you want to add to ours, perhaps
we can use ours and use the ones you want to add.
MR. TALKIN: When you introduce the parties, do you
want us to stand up?
THE COURT: What's more comfortable for you?
MR. TALKIN: I think it's probably better if we just
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all stand up and also the defendant's going to stand up as
well, if that's okay with you.
THE COURT: If she's comfortable doing that.
MR. TALKIN: Just uniform -- whatever it is, I just
want it to be uniformed.
THE COURT: Sure.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: So if you want to circle
questions you want to add for yours, if that's okay with the
Court.
THE COURT: Sure.
Which paragraph is this?
MR. TALKIN: That's Section D, paragraphs 24 through
35.
Sixteen is in our...
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Do you want to draw a line
through it?
THE COURT: So I think the best way to do it is go
off the record and do a summary at the end.
(Off the record.)
THE COURT: All right. We've spent the last half
hour, working on proposed voir dire. The parties have agreed
to proposed voir dire, and amalgamated the Government and the
defense's questions, sent a copy to chambers which will be
reproduced and given to counsel.
Is the proposed voir dire satisfactory to the
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Government?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: It is, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And to the defense?
MR. TALKIN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. So let's talk briefly. Just go
back on the record. Do you need your client to be here, the
defendant to be here for this moment?
MR. TALKIN: No. We'll waive her for this. This is
administrative proceedings. So we'll waive her appearance.
THE COURT: All right. So Judge Block has requested
two alternates. That's how I'm proceeding. If you feel
strongly about that, I can give Mike Innelli a call.
MR. AMIR: I think it's always safer to have one
extra if someone gets sick. Someone could talk to the
defendant accidently in the elevator. So I would personally
request just one more.
THE COURT: One extra alternate?
MR. AMIR: Yes.
THE COURT: Three alternates, instead of two?
MR. AMIR: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: I don't object to that, but two is
fine.
THE COURT: We'll contact the clerk in a minute.
I have a little chart here that describes how many
challenges each party has in which round. So this way, it
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should be easy for you to figure out.
MR. TALKIN: Your Honor, how are those exercised as
far as the first, second, is that on the chart, as well?
THE COURT: It's on the chart, who is first and who
is second and how many. Let me pass it down to you.
MR. TALKIN: Thank you.
THE COURT: So take a look at it and see if it makes
sense.
MR. TALKIN: It does.
MR. AMIR: Excellent. Thank you, Judge.
THE COURT: And then you can see for the alternates,
as well. So this way, there won't be any confusion of how
we're doing it. And the alternates will be challenged
separately. First, we'll do the 12 jurors, and then we'll do
the alternates.
MR. TALKIN: As far as my understanding, you fill
the box and then you fill a couple of rows or a row or two.
THE COURT: Right.
MR. TALKIN: And then we're doing a struck system;
is that correct? The first 12 standing after juror selection
will be the first 12?
THE COURT: Right. Exactly. And then we'll do the
two alternates or three, depending on what we have.
MR. TALKIN: Got it.
THE COURT: Okay. And although I don't permit you
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to do questioning, if there's a serious issue involving a
particular juror and you feel that it's important to be able
to speak to the juror, we can call the juror up to sidebar and
you can ask some questions there or I'll ask the questions,
depending how things are going.
MR. TALKIN: And, Your Honor, along those lines, if
you -- if there's a perception, an obvious perception, of
somebody you want to speak to in private, how do you handle
that?
THE COURT: We bring them back here. Although we do
have the white noise.
MR. TALKIN: I have no preference. I'm just asking.
THE COURT: Well, normally, we do the white noise.
Sometimes it gets really, really burdensome for the jurors, so
I spare them and bring them back here. But if everything goes
well, we'll do the white noise and bring them up to sidebar.
MR. TALKIN: Okay. And I assume -- I'll talk to my
client, but I think we'll waive her appearance at those
sidebars because I assume there's marshals here. And I really
don't want them flowing back and forth with her.
THE COURT: I'm not sure how the marshals --
MR. TALKIN: If there's no marshals, I'm happy to
have her at the sidebar for the discussions. If there is,
there's a reason for that not to be the case. When I say
"marshals," I also mean the court officers.
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THE COURT: Right.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Or sometimes what I've done in
the past is if there's a question that you need her input on,
we can just give you time to go back to her and come back.
MR. TALKIN: That's fine. What I don't want is a
parade. It's enough of a parade of people that we don't need
that happening. So I'll let you know before we start.
THE COURT: So I'll assume that you're waiving her
appearance at sidebar unless you tell me expressly.
MR. TALKIN: Expressly, yeah, that's fair.
MR. AMIR: And, Judge, you may get to this, but how
do you want to raise potential for-cause strikes? If during
the colloquy or you're asking questions, how do we notify you
that we wish to strike a juror?
THE COURT: After the questions have been completed,
then I'll ask you, Do you have a for-cause challenge?
MR. AMIR: Okay.
THE COURT: So we'll do it right away before it gets
stale.
MR. AMIR: Okay.
THE COURT: Any other questions?
MR. AMIR: Not for me.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: That's fine. And you'll call
us up at sidebar, and we'll do it that way?
THE COURT: Yeah. You'll be parading back and
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forth.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: In each section, got it.
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: That's it.
MS. BILINKAS: And, Your Honor, I'm sorry. The copy
that was provided to Ms. Marino, that still had the old docket
number at the top because we just used the ECF version, but
it's updated accordingly if you want us to refile or not.
THE COURT: When you get it, why don't you just
cross out -- actually I have two things: One, I think the
copy that Ms. Marino gets will be given to the court reporter
and marked as an exhibit. And if you want to make any changes
on the docket number, do that before you give it to the court
reporter.
MS. BILINKAS: Okay.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Sounds good.
THE COURT: Anything else?
MR. TALKIN: No thank you.
THE COURT: Good luck, everyone. And if I missed
something or misread, you know, feel free to let me know.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE CLERK: The Honorable Robert Levy presiding.
THE COURT: Good morning, everyone. Please have a
seat.
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Are counsel ready to proceed?
MR. AMIR: Yes, Your Honor.
MR. TALKIN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: We're just waiting a moment for some
documents to be delivered to the courtroom, and then we'll
begin.
(Pause in the proceedings.)
THE COURT: In the meantime, we have a preliminary
to go over with counsel.
Counsel, if you're comfortable remaining seated, I
think it would be easier for you and better for the
microphones to pick you up.
This is a question for the Government and for the
defense: Have you each explained to your client that this
trial will be presided over by United States District Court
Judge Frederic Block and that you have a right to have a U.S.
district court judge preside over this jury selection? And
that my participation in this case is limited to supervising
the selection of the jury.
Speaking first to the Government, do you or your
client have any objection to my supervision of jury selection?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And to the defense?
MR. TALKIN: No, Your Honor.
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THE COURT: And speaking to the defendant, good
morning, ma'am.
MS. OKEKE: Good morning.
THE COURT: Do you have any objection to my
presiding over this jury selection?
MS. OKEKE: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Are you making this decision
voluntarily?
MS. OKEKE: Yes.
THE COURT: Has anyone forced you, threatened you,
or made you any promises to induce you to agree to have me
hear the jury selection?
MS. OKEKE: No, sir.
THE COURT: While we are waiting for the document to
arrive, we'll go through a few preliminaries.
You're here today for the selection of a jury in a
criminal case. The trial is scheduled to begin today or at
the close of jury selection before District Judge Frederic
Block. It is expected to last, potentially, up to two weeks.
I'm going to ask counsel to introduce themselves to you,
starting with the Government.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Good morning, everyone. Chand
Edwards-Balfour.
MR. AMIR: Good morning, Assistant United States
Attorney Adam Amir.
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MS. BILINKAS: Good morning, Jennifer Bilinkas.
AGENT THOMPSON: Good morning. Jeff Thompson.
MS. AUSBROOKS: Good morning. Michaela Ausbrooks.
MS. WARD: April Ward.
MR. RONCHETTI: Sam Ronchetti.
MR. BUFORD: I'm Turner Buford. Good morning.
THE COURT: Thank you.
For the defense.
MR. TALKIN: Good morning, everyone. Sam Talkin.
MS. OKEKE: Anuli Okeke. Good morning.
MR. GREENSPAN: Good morning. Noam Greenspan.
MR. M. TURNER: Good morning. Michael Turner.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
MR. TALKIN: Your Honor, can we approach for one
minute?
THE COURT: Yes.
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
MR. TALKIN: Your Honor, you probably weren't told,
but the actual trial is going to start Monday, a week from
today, and that affects the timing, so when they know it's
going to last two weeks.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Anything else?
MR. TALKIN: That's it.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: For now.
(End of sidebar conference.)
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(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: All right. I've been informed that the
trial will begin next Monday. And it will last for up to
two weeks. It will not begin today.
Just a show of hands, how many of you have ever
served on a jury before, anywhere?
And how many of you have served on a jury in federal
court? No one.
How many of you, who have served on a jury, have
served on a jury in a criminal case?
Just two of you.
Sir, what is your Juror Number?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thirty. 3-0.
THE COURT: 3-0.
And in the back?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fifty-one.
THE COURT: Thank you.
For Juror Number 30, how long ago did you serve on a
criminal trial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fifteen years ago.
THE COURT: Okay. And without telling us what the
verdict was, did your jury come to a verdict?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Juror Number 50.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fifty-one.
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THE COURT: I'm sorry, 51.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And it's approximately 15 or
so years ago, and we did come to a verdict.
THE COURT: Okay, thank you.
Would counsel like to pursue any of these questions
at sidebar while we're waiting, or is there no need at this
point?
MR. TALKIN: Not at this time, Your Honor.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Nothing from the Government.
Thanks, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And those of who you participated in a
civil trial, how many of you -- did any of you not reach a
verdict?
I'm sorry, what's your Juror Number?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fifty.
THE COURT: Fifty? Thank you.
So while we are a waiting, let me explain what we're
here for. You may already know that this proceeding is called
a voir dire, it's legal French, it's old French. And,
basically, the purpose of the voir dire is to select a jury
that will be fair and impartial to both sides in this case.
This means that the jurors in the courtroom will
base their verdict only on the evidence as presented and not
on anything else that they may have heard or read or
experienced outside the courtroom and that you will follow the
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law as you're instructed by the judge.
And can the Government please state what the docket
number is of this case?
MR. AMIR: 22-CR-20.
THE COURT: Okay, thank you.
Does the Government and the defense, do you both
have copies of the proposed voir dire at this time?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We do, Your Honor. Thank you.
THE COURT: And is it satisfactory?
MR. TALKIN: Yes, we do. And, yes, it's
satisfactory.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: "Yes" to the second question,
as well, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. The name of this case is
entitled: United States of America against Anuli Okeke.
I hope I'm pronouncing your name correctly.
MS. OKEKE: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Docket numbers 22-CR-20. The
prosecution in this case is often referred to as "the
Government." The prosecution is entitled to no greater weight
than the defense in your deliberations. The fact that this
prosecution is brought in the name of the United States is
does not entitle the Government to any greater consideration
than the defendants or any other party who appears in court.
All parties are equal before the Court.
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As I mentioned, the procedure we're going to through
today is called a voir dire. Its purpose is to select a jury
that will be fair and impartial to both sides in this case.
As I said, this means that the jurors will base their verdict
only on the evidence that's presented in this courtroom and
not on anything that they may have heard or read or
experienced outside the courtroom. And again, that they will
follow the law as instructed by Judge Block.
I will be questioning you both as a group and
individually. Hopefully, you'll find this an interesting
process. It's critically important to any criminal trial. At
times, though, it may seem tedious. I'm going to ask your
patience because it is an essential process to guaranteeing a
fair trial.
If at any time during the questioning you think that
because of some experience that you've had in your life or
because of something you've heard or read, you cannot be fair
and impartial in this case, then it is your duty to let me
know that. In other words, if for any reason you think you
would favor either the Government or the defense regardless of
what the evidence showed, you must let me know. Both the
Government and the defendants have a right to a fair and
impartial jury that will render a verdict based solely on the
evidence that's presented at the trial and the law as
instructed by the Court.
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In order to be certain that we have a fair and
impartial jury, I will have to ask you a number of questions
about your background and your opinions on certain subjects.
The purpose of the questioning is two-fold, first to enable me
to determine whether or not any prospective juror should be
excused for what we call cause and second, to enable the
lawyers for each parties to exercise what we call peremptory
challenges of jurors which means that they may excuse a
certain number of prospective jurors without giving a reason.
If you're excused, there's no personal affront
that's intended, it simply means that you may not be the best
fit for this particular case. In asking these questions, it's
not my intention to intrude on your privacy, it's simply to
ensure that you can be fair and impartial as jurors
in this case.
If I ask a question that you would like to answer in
private, all you need to do is simply ask me to come up at
sidebar, and I'll turn on the white noise. And you'll be able
to speak privately with me, on the record, before counsel at
the sidebar. So, again, if you believe that your answer
should be in private and not in front of the entire jury
panel, simply ask me for a sidebar, and we'll certainly
accommodate you.
Please listen to my questions very carefully because
the answers that you give must be under oath. You have a duty
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to answer each question as honestly, conscientiously,
completely, and truthfully as you can.
Have you all met my court staff? We have my law
clerks Allison Marculitis and Leslie Rubin, and my two interns
Claire and Sophia. They'll be here to help clear any issues
that come up that you need additional help for.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: So now I'm going to read to
you an oath, after which please respond "I do." So if you
could all stand and raise your right hand.
Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the answers
you're about to give touching upon your qualifications to
serve as prospective jurors in this case now before the Court
will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do (unanimously).
THE COURT: This criminal case comes before the
Court by way of what we call an indictment. The indictment is
captioned United States of America against Anuli Okeke. The
indictment is simply the document that the Government uses to
state the charges against a defendant. It serves no other
purpose. It's not evidence, and you may not draw any
conclusions about whether or not anyone is guilty of anything
from the fact that there's an indictment.
The parties have agreed to a statement of the case
that summarizes the indictment. Again, it's not evidence, and
it's only being read to you so that you understand what the
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charges are about. Again, any evidence pertaining to the
charges against this defendant will come before you only when
the Court begins an actual trial, not here during the jury
selection.
So counsel have authorized me to read you the
following statement of the case:
Anuli Okeke is charged with defrauding and
conspiring to defraud Popular Bank and the Small Business
Administration, otherwise known as the SBA, to obtain Payment
Protection Program, PPP, loans and Economic Injury Disaster
Loan program loans, EIDL. The Government alleges that the
defendant and her co-conspirators assisted borrowers in
submitting fraudulent PPP applications through Popular Bank to
the SBA, despite knowing that the customers did not qualify
for the loans and took unauthorized kickbacks from the loan
proceeds.
The Government further alleges that the defendant
laundered the crime proceeds through the financial system. In
connection with these alleged crimes, the defendant is charged
in a four-count indictment with wire and bank fraud
conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering
conspiracy.
Again, the indictment is not evidence, the
indictment is merely a statement of the charge. And I've
explained to you how evidence is received, it's received in
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the courtroom only.
So I'm going to be asking you a number of questions,
and if you have a "yes" answer to any of the questions, I'm
going to ask you to raise your hand. And then, we'll try to
come to you with either more questions or we'll pass over to
the next person. But we'll go in chronological order or
numerical order.
So, for example, if I ask you a question and Jurors
Number 1, 3, and 5 have "yes" answers, I'm going to ask Jurors
Number 1, 3, and 5 to raise their hand, and if I need to
pursue that any further, I'll do it in numerical order.
Now, the defendant has pleaded not guilty to the
charges and has thus raised issues of fact that are to be
determined by a jury. The Government has the burden of proof
in any criminal case to establish that a defendant is guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt of any charge that they wish to
convict them on. The defendant is presumed to be innocent.
In that regard, the defendant has no burden to
present any evidence or even to testify since the defendant
has the constitutional right to remain silent, the law
prohibits you from considering, when you deliberate, that the
defendant may not have testified. In other words, you can't
hold it against the defendant that the defendant has exercised
his or her right to remain silent under the constitution.
This is a basic principle of our criminal justice system.
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The role of the jury in a criminal case is to hear
evidence and decide the facts. That is to decide what
happened. The judge does not have any role at all to play in
your determination of the facts. What the judge does is to
instruct you on the law that applies to the case and the
charges. You will apply the facts, as you find them to the
law as the judge instructs you, and your conclusion will be
your verdict. You must apply the law, as stated by the judge,
regardless of any opinion that you personally have as to what
the law is or should be.
If any of you would have any difficulty doing this,
you must bring that to my attention.
So, I'm now going to begin asking questions of the
jurors whose names have been called. You've been seated in
numerical order. For example, I'm going to ask questions such
as, Do you know any of the attorneys or parties in the case?
It's very important for all of you, even those of you whose
names have not been called, to pay close attention to all of
my questions and to make note if your answer to any of my
questions to be yes. That is because if any of the jurors
whose names were called are excused, you may be called upon to
replace that juror. If that happens, I will not repeat all
the questions I've asked. I will simply ask you if you have a
yes answer to any of my questions.
So here's the first question:
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Does anyone know any of the parties -- attorneys who
have introduced themselves to you previously? Does any of you
know any of the attorneys in this case?
Juror, what number are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Number 9.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I went to high school with
Michael Turner.
THE COURT: All right. Have you -- are you close
friends with him?
MS. OKEKE: I haven't seen him since high school.
THE COURT: How long ago was that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That was two years ago.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there anything about your
acquaintance with him that would make it difficult for you to
be fair and impartial on this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Would you bend over backwards and give
the greater benefit of the doubt to either the Government or
the defense simply because you know, Mr. Turner?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Did you have any fistfights or
disagreements in high school?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: How would you describe your relationship
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with him?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We're good. We had a couple
of classes together. Yeah.
THE COURT: But do you think you can still be fair
and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Anyone else?
All right. How about others who are at counsel
table?
Is there anyone who is familiar with any of the
individuals at counsel table?
Does anyone know the defendant?
Is there anyone who either did not understand or who
cannot accept any of the principles of law that I explained
this morning, including the following: The indictment is not
evidence, the defendant is presumed innocent, the Government
has the burden of proof, to prove the guilt of the defendant,
and to do so by proof beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant
has a right to remain silent and you can't hold it against the
defendant if the defendant exercises that right and chooses
not to testify or present any evidence because the burden of
proof is entirely on the Government?
Anyone have any questions or issues with that?
Does anyone think that because Ms. Okeke has been
charged by the Government and is here on trial that she must
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have done something wrong or illegal?
Do you think that just because a person sits here
today accused of something, she's automatically guilty or
probably guilty? Or more likely than not guilty?
And the purpose of that question is to make sure
that you feel, despite whatever experience you've had in your
life, that the mere fact that a person has been accused of a
crime and indicted does not constitute evidence and that you
would keep an open mind and listen to all of the evidence
before you made any decision.
Is there anyone here who has any difficulties
speaking English, understanding English, and/or has had
difficulty understanding me and my explanations so far?
Is there anyone here who has difficulty hearing or
seeing that might make it difficult to examine documents or
evidence during a trial?
Is there anyone who has heard anything with about
this case before today?
Is there anyone here who -- knowing that the trial
is scheduled to begin next Monday and might last up to
two weeks, is there anyone who would find it -- who has a
conflict in serving on a jury during that period?
Okay. So let me start writing the numbers. Number
Two, Number Three -- anyone else in the first row?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Can I ask what a "conflict"
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defines?
THE COURT: I'm sorry?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Conflict as in travel, work,
all those type of things.
THE COURT: Well, work, I think most people will
probably have some issues with that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, exactly.
THE COURT: And we all have a duty to serve on
juries regardless of whether we have work or what, otherwise.
I'm looking more for anyone who has already -- travel
arrangements, paid for tickets already, has graduation,
getting married, leaving the state, something like that, much
more serious that would prevent you from being a juror.
So are you on the yes list or no list?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think I'd have to have a
separate conversation.
THE COURT: You're on the maybe list.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am, yes.
THE COURT: You're Juror Number Six. Juror
Number Five, did you have your hand up?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Anyone in row two. Juror Number Ten.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Number Nine.
THE COURT: I'm sorry, Number Nine.
Anyone else, row three? What number are you, ma'am?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sixteen.
THE COURT: Seventeen and 18?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And 15.
THE COURT: And 15.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: It's 14, 15, and 16.
THE COURT: Fourteen, 15, 16.
And we're only talking about the -- how many, 36 --
What's the last number we have?
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Thirty-two.
THE COURT: Thirty-two.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: We have 34 seated, but 32 for
two alternates.
THE COURT: So no one beyond number 34. Okay.
Juror Number 2, why don't you come up to the sidebar, we'll
discuss it up here.
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
THE COURT: Ms. Henderson?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am.
THE COURT: Do you have a conflict?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do. I have a vacation
planned with the family, starting --
THE COURT: When are you leaving?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: On the 28th. So if we start
next week and then it goes for two weeks, I might -- it might
not end in time.
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THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That's all.
MR. TALKIN: I think we'll be done by then.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
MR. TALKIN: Fairly certain.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. All right. Thanks.
(Prospective Juror exits sidebar.)
MR. TALKIN: I have a question.
I notice from the jury list I got, that the names
are not in alphabetical order, but I just need to confirm that
when -- usually, we call the jurors and seat them after
they're in the courtroom. If they were pre-randomly, selected
that's fine. I just don't have that information available to
me. So I'm just trying to find out if that's the case.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: The numbering is by computer.
THE COURT: Like the Court had nothing to do with
it.
MR. TALKIN: No, I get that. What I'm just --
THE COURT: It's not alphabetical, it's numbered by
the computer.
MR. TALKIN: I get that. I just have to confirm for
my client that it was a random process that put them in those
numbers. If that's the case, that's terrific.
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THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: It's done by the jury
department.
MR. TALKIN: So it's a random situation?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: Perfect. Thank you. That's the only
other question I had.
(Prospective Juror enters sidebar.)
THE CLERK: Juror Number 3
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have to pick up my kids
every day from school at 2:10. So if it's for two weeks
straight, it might be -- I won't have anyone to pick up my
kids.
THE COURT: And do you have someone who backs you up
when you're sick?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure. Sick for a day or
two, but not for two weeks. You know what I mean? I mean, I
can have my wife -- like, today, I can have my wife pick them
up, but then she works the other days, too, so it's...
THE COURT: Okay. So you have child care concerns?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: (Nonverbal gesture).
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions from counsel?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No.
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Why don't you have a
seat for a moment, and we'll get back to you?
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(Prospective Juror exits sidebar.)
MR. TALKIN: Do you want to hear from us now?
THE COURT: Yes, I do. I just didn't want you to --
MR. TALKIN: We consent. That's fine.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We move.
MR. AMIR: I might suggest, your court maybe doing
this anyway, but to wait to excuse them until the end so that
way, people -- it doesn't get contagious that people suddenly
have --
THE COURT: Right.
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: Number 6.
(Prospective Juror enters sidebar.)
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(The following occurred at sidebar.)
THE COURT: Hi, Ms. Kaplan.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am the head of North
America for a luxury leather goods branch. I am the top of
the rung. If I'm out of the business that long, it's
detrimental, and I'm on call basically 24 hours a day. We
have an online business, we have retail staff, I have about 30
people underneath me. It is not -- while I understand an
excuse not to do jury duty, but I am the head of entire
region, so being out of the business that long without being
contactable is detrimental to the overall revenue of stream of
business.
THE COURT: So would you ever be able to serve on a
jury?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: If it was a day or here, but
I can't be out such a long period of time. I am the only
person. I'm like, I am the person.
MR. TALKIN: Would you serving as a juror here,
would you be distracted if you were -- if you had to serve for
two weeks, would you be able to pay attention to what's going
on in the courtroom or would you be distracted if that was the
case, that you had to be on the jury? However you want to
answer.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In all human responses, I
would be very stressed about not being able to be connected to
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my business.
MR. TALKIN: Would you be able to pay attention to
what's in the courtroom and listen to the evidence with that
stress or would you be distracted? That's really the
question.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can't -- I wouldn't know
until I was sitting in the room to be able to tell you for
sure. I've never been in the room to be able to tell you.
THE COURT: Is your business mainly national or
international as well?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm the global -- sorry, I'm
the head of North America for a corporate brand. So my head
office is based in London. I do meetings at six a.m., seven
a.m. I mean, I'm --
THE COURT: Perfect for a juror.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But I'm on call basically
from six a.m. until the end of the day west coast time.
THE COURT: Is there any way that you could tell
people to contact you during breaks or at the end of the day
or before work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I mean, I can, but if
there's fire -- if there are what I would call a fire drill or
someone -- if someone needs me for, I'm not contactable.
THE COURT: Okay. The problem that we have is that
we don't want to create a class of people who are exempt from
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jury duty because of the kind of work they do.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I understand. I'm just
giving you the -- my work situation.
THE COURT: So if you hear that you're not excused,
you'll understand that we are understanding, but that so many
people feel that they're in indispensable roles, rightly so.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I'm just giving you my
current situation.
THE COURT: Okay. Got it.
Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thanks.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. AMIR: I do think if she's ultimately seated, I
do think it's worth reminding her that she would be able to
check her phone during breaks, lunch breaks, things like that.
THE COURT: Yeah.
MR. AMIR: I agree with you, we don't want to
exclude people with demanding jobs from the jury.
THE COURT: Right.
MR. AMIR: Right.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: You all agree, right?
MR. AMIR: Yes.
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We would agree to keep her.
THE COURT: Does the defense agree as well?
MR. TALKIN: I'm sorry?
THE COURT: Do you agree, as well, that she could
not be excused for cause?
MR. TALKIN: I think she would be -- I think she's
trying to be forthright with the Court, but it seems like
she's going to be distracted and she said no, but I'm
personally not satisfied with the answer.
THE COURT: So there might be more grounds with it.
I think we discussed it with her. I think she understood.
MR. TALKIN: Understood.
THE COURT: Next.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. I'm gonna be gone from
the 25th of is month until the -- about the 8th of July. I'm
going up to Nantucket for a family trip. I do it every year,
but I'm also going up to see my grandparents and help them
around their house and stuff like that, so.
THE COURT: Okay.
Would that work?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We should be done by then,
Your Honor.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: By the 25th of this month?
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Does that work for you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, that works.
THE COURT: Okay. Great. Thanks.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
(Prospective juror approaches.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have travel tickets for
July 5th. So I'm not sure, if it runs over, if there's going
to be a conflict.
MR. TALKIN: We'll be done by then.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Do you have a question or you'll all do
your cross-examination very efficiently.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We'll do our best.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good morning, Judge. I have
a prepaid trip to Ireland that leaves on June 16th.
THE COURT: Have a great trip.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: You're excused. Thank you.
Just go back to your seat and we'll excuse you in a
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little while.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, sir. Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Prepaid.
MR. AMIR: That's fine.
MR. TALKIN: That's fine.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hey.
THE COURT: Ms. Vangjeli.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I have summer courses
Tuesdays and Thursdays.
THE COURT: What time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: From 8:30 until 2:50.
THE COURT: Oh, okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Do you think -- this is probably not a
good time for you to serve then.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: At least on this jury. So I am going to
ask you to sit down and then we'll excuse you in a few
minutes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Did I miss anyone?
Okay. We're good so far.
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THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: We have one more. Twenty-six
and 28.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't believe I would be
available for the latter half of the trial because I will be
having a passport appointment, applying for a new passport
during that time and I will be leaving the state during the
latter half of the trial.
THE COURT: When would you be doing this?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like, the -- since the trial
is two weeks, I would be going to for, like, the latter half
because I was assuming it would be these two weeks.
THE COURT: Do you know what days?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think the beginning of the
third week from today which is -- since the trial is starting
next week, right?
THE COURT: Right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It would be the week after
that.
THE COURT: So it would be the 17th?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: So what do you have to do exactly?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Implying for a new passport.
THE COURT: Right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And then I will be leaving
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the state soon after.
THE COURT: So when were you going to get your
passport?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure to be honest
because I'm applying on that date, but I'm not sure when I'm
going to receive it.
THE COURT: So is there any reason you can't leave
the week afterwards? You don't have a fixed date for your
departure, do you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I don't believe so.
It's just that day.
THE COURT: Wouldn't that be a problem for you if
you waited a week because it may well be that it will take you
a little time to get you a passport that often, in fact, I
think most passports aren't delivered overnight unless there's
an emergency.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, it might take a while.
THE COURT: It might take a while so it sounds like
you'll be fine for the trial.
MR. TALKIN: What day do you have the meeting for
the passport?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: During that week, like, in
that month.
MR. TALKIN: Do you know the day?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think that Monday.
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THE COURT: Have they given you a date?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think it's the
20-something, 20th, maybe a Thursday.
MR. TALKIN: Yeah, Thursday is the 20th. And is
that an all day thing, or?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think it's a morning
thing, like, around 12:00 p.m.
THE COURT: And it's a definite appointment?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A definite, yeah.
THE COURT: All right. And you're pretty sure it's
the 20th or around there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay.
Any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Have a seat and we'll get back to
you in a minute.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We'll be done by then.
MR. TALKIN: Might be, and if he's on the jury, I
guess we can accommodate him.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: And also you can probably
reschedule your passport appointment?
MR. TALKIN: That's a big ask.
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Fair enough.
MR. TALKIN: First, he may not be on the jury, and,
second, if he is, we may be done by then and I'm just
suggesting and I don't know if Judge Block would want to
accommodate him, I certainly think we could but that's up to
Judge Block.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Same for the Government, we're
fine.
THE COURT: You're fine with him staying on?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. I'm going to put a little circle
question. He's number 26, right?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Twenty-six.
THE COURT: And we get back through everything else
it would be since he doesn't have his phone, he might not know
when the appointment is. Not having the phones could be a
problem for them. So I have one thought, which is during a
break, we'd ask him to go down and check his phone and see
what the date is.
MR. AMIR: Good idea.
THE COURT: Why don't we do that. I am going to put
a question mark by him. Okay. So that's it for travel.
THE CLERK: Juror No. 28.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Good morning, Ms. Schillig.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good morning.
THE COURT: How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Your Honor, I have airfare
reservations next Wednesday through Saturday.
THE COURT: Where are you going?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I hate it say this but I'm
going to Nantucket. It's a 70th birthday party.
THE COURT: That's good.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thankfully, not for me.
THE COURT: Why don't you have a seat and we'll take
care of it.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection.
MR. AMIR: No.
MR. TALKIN: No objection.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection.
MR. AMIR: Second juror going to the Hamptons.
THE COURT: Anything else?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Nothing from the Government.
THE CLERK: We have two people.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My conflict is a graduation
of both of my kids -- my kids, the 14th and the 20th.
THE COURT: Oh, okay. You have a conflict.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Well, it's their
graduations.
THE COURT: It's important.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The 14th for middle school
and the 20th for -- for high school.
THE COURT: Okay. Have a seat and we'll take care
of it.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Okay. Thank you.
(prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: No objection.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection.
THE CLERK: Now we have two more.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello. Good morning.
THE COURT: Good morning. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: First of all, I'm diabetic
and high blood pressure. I need to use the bathroom.
THE COURT: Right now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Yes. Of course. You may.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My blood sugar is kind of
low.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's low.
THE COURT: And if you are selected for the jury,
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any time you need to use the bathroom, when you're not feeling
well, you need a little extra time, you just tell the court
clerk and they'll accommodate you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Okay?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: Are you feeling okay?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not too much.
THE COURT: Do you need to eat or drink something?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. My medication, I take
it. All right.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I got to use the bathroom.
THE COURT: Yes.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Good morning.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a question for the
next Monday, I needed to came here, or?
THE COURT: I'm sorry, could you --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Needed -- I need to came in
this Monday?
THE COURT: What do you have to do next Monday?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Do I need to came in because
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I have my child to take care of?
THE COURT: How old is your child?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Seven years old.
THE COURT: Do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. I'm working. My
English is not very well.
THE COURT: What hours do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Today, I just asked for
leave. I -- today 7:00 to 12:00 but I tell them I can't --
not working today, I got to came to the court.
THE COURT: Okay. So if you were on the jury, would
that be a problem for you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I just need -- my English is
not really well.
THE COURT: Okay. What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The take care of the -- the
nursing home. Take care of the old -- older person.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And some -- I got to work to
the restaurant too after that.
THE COURT: Does anybody have any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No, Your Honor.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Have a seat, please.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
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(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: I will consent for various reasons.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: I'm in agreeance.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: I think that's it, right?
THE CLERK: I think 34. Juror Number 34.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: Hi. Hello. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm doing good. My sister's
graduation is on the 18th and that's I think within the next
two weeks. Is that a valid excuse?
THE COURT: It's a Tuesday, right?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a Tuesday.
THE COURT: Where is she graduating from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Brooklyn Tech.
THE COURT: And are you planning on going?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, I've been invited.
THE COURT: And is that something you would like to
go to?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, because only her
mother is going, so I want to be there for her too.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Anybody have any questions?
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MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Thank you. Have a seat. We'll get back
to you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Anybody else?
THE CLERK: 34. Yes, we're excusing 34.
MR. TALKIN: We consent.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We consent to excuse, yeah,
34.
THE COURT: Yeah. Okay.
Juror Number 20.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have an issue only if it
would extend beyond two weeks. My child is graduating from
elementary school and I can't not miss it. I'm also a teacher
and I take care of my child when the school year ends but
that's more than two weeks out, but I just know that you
cannot guarantee time frames, so if there's -- I just wanted
to state that. Thank you.
THE COURT: Counsel?
MR. TALKIN: No questions.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
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THE COURT: Okay. We think it's going to end pretty
clearly before the end of two weeks.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Great. Thank you.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: That's it.
THE COURT: Okay. We're done?
MR. AMIR: One selfish request, is it possible to
use the restroom after this colloquy ends?
THE COURT: Yes.
(End of sidebar conference.)
THE CLERK: Okay. Juror Number 3, you're excused,
replacing Prospective Juror Number 33, Filipe De Jesus, can
you please come fill seat number 3.
THE COURT: And those of you that are excused, you
need to go down to the jury room and tell them you're excused
from this jury and they'll assign you to another jury.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 15, you're excused.
Replacing Prospective Juror Number 15 with Juror Number 34,
James Sharp. Can you please come take a seat.
Juror Number 16, you're excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 16, Juror Number 36, Chelsi Napoli.
Could you please come and take seat number 16.
Juror Number 23, you are excused. Juror Number 37,
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Danielle Krasniqi, could you please take seat number 23 in the
front row. Thank you.
Juror Number 27, you're excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 27, Juror Number 38,
Prabhjott Kusrath. Could you please take seat number 27.
Thank you.
Juror Number 28, you are excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 28, Juror Number 39, Nancy Smith.
Could you please come take a seat, Juror Number 28.
And Juror Number 34, you're excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 34 --
(Off the record discussion.)
THE CLERK: Thank you, everyone.
THE COURT: Are we good?
THE CLERK: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay.
Juror Number 26, could you come up to sidebar for
just a minute.
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Do you have the date of your appointment
with the passport people in your phone?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: In your calendar?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: So I am going to excuse you to go
downstairs and look in your phone and tell us -- come back and
tell us when your interview is. Okay?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure.
MR. TALKIN: Right now?
THE COURT: Yeah, right now.
MR. TALKIN: Then we have to stop the whole
proceedings. We'll do it during the break in a couple of
minutes because I think people really need to go.
THE COURT: So wait for a minute. Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: I was gonna give him a break.
MR. TALKIN: I didn't know that. Sorry.
THE COURT: It's okay.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Judge, maybe when you're about
to give a break, can you just give the reminder that we're not
allowed to communicate with them?
THE COURT: Yes.
(End of sidebar conference.)
THE COURT: All right.
During this trial, you will hear about the Small
Business Administration loans. Before we ask that question,
those of you who newly have been seated, do any of you have a
yes answer to any of my questions.
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I'm sorry, ma'am, what number are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thirty-six.
THE COURT: Okay. Which question do you have a
question answer to?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The travel restrictions.
THE COURT: We'll get you in a just a minute.
Anyone else?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thirty-seven and also a
conflict with travel.
THE COURT: Anyone else?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thirty-eight and also a
conflict.
Thirty-nine, with the travel.
THE COURT: Okay, great.
Okay. Ma'am, would you like to come up?
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm traveling on Wednesday
to Oklahoma City to see my grandma because she was recently
hospitalized.
THE COURT: How long will you be there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't know. It's a
one-way flight but I'm assuming at least a week and a half.
She's -- she's not in great condition and I think I will have
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to help clean things afterwards.
THE COURT: Okay. So how long do you expect to be
away?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like a week and a half.
THE COURT: You think a week and a half?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Have a seat and
we'll --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. AMIR: I would be fine excusing her.
MR. TALKIN: As are we.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Fine excusing.
THE COURT: Okay. So we will excuse her.
Who's next?
THE CLERK: Juror 37.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm going to be out of town
the -- starting on the 14th of June.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. It's already paid for
work event.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you. We'll let
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you know.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thanks.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection from the
Government to excusing her.
MR. TALKIN: Nor from us.
THE COURT: Okay. Excused.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good morning, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Good morning.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I understand my legal
obligations to serve on a jury. However, I'm an only child
and I have to care for both of my parents I have to drop my
mom for work on the weekdays at 8:00 a.m. and on the weekend I
have to take care of my father who isn't doing so well .he has
stomach problems. My father is 62 years old.
THE COURT: Do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I don't work. I just
have to drop my mom off in the morning and take care of him
during the day.
THE COURT: Does anyone have any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad is currently with my
mom at work today, so that's --
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THE COURT: It sounds complicated.
Okay. We'll let you know if you'll be excused.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I understand.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: No objection.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection.
MR. AMIR: I don't know if I'm insensitive. I don't
know what -- he didn't really specify what his father's
condition was. I think it merits another one or two
questions.
THE COURT: What about his mother?
MR. AMIR: He can drop her off and then come to the
court. He said he has to drop her off by eight.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: That's fine.
MR. TALKIN: That's fine.
MR. AMIR: I think it's just worth a little more
inquiry. Sorry.
THE COURT: That's fine.
THE CLERK: Sorry, Juror Number 38, could you come
back up, please.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes?
THE COURT: Hi. What's your father's condition?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father has stomach issues
but it's undiagnosed. He's been going to the doctor back and
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forth. He had a colonoscopy and endoscopy. He doesn't -- he
feels bloated all the time.
THE COURT: Could he stay with your mother during
the day for a couple weeks?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure, for a couple
of weeks, but I usually take care of him because, like, I'm
not sure how my mom would work.
THE COURT: What do you have to do to take care of
your father?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I just have to stay around
him. If he needs medication, I give it to him and if he needs
anything to eat or drink, I help him with that.
THE COURT: Is there any way to get someone to help
out while you're on jury duty?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm the only child.
No one else to do it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: And your father can't get his medication
by himself?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He can get his medication by
himself so I have to make sure -- he's tough with English, I
have to make sure he's properly --
THE COURT: Is it the same medication every day?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Is it pills?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Can you put it in those pillboxes, so
while you're gone, he can do it himself?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Also within the two weeks,
is June 18th one of the two dates within the two weeks?
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a recall for my
vehicle which is how I drop off my mom as well. So if I do
have to stay on jury, can I be excused on the 18th?
THE COURT: I don't think we can stop the trial on
the 18. What do you have to do.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a recall permit for my
car.
THE COURT: What's a recall permit?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: There's safety recall for my
car. I have to go to my dealer.
THE COURT: You can change that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can reschedule that.
THE COURT: I think you can reschedule that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: So could someone help you with taking I
care of your father? Could you just use pillboxes to make it
clear what he takes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So long as it's only the
medication, I can tear care of that but I'm not sure if it's
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for the food and all that stuff, I -- but --
THE COURT: What food?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: If he needs to be -- I have
to be on jury, I can, but I -- would just be worried about my
father at the time of the trial. If I can, I can, but that
will just be in my head.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Well, there is a requirement that
people -- that everyone be on a jury unless it's really not a
lifesaving emergency, but a very compelling emergency.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I know.
THE COURT: I understand you want to take care of
your father but it sounds there are other alternative ways
that you can have him cared for while you're on the jury.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Understood. Like I said, if
I had another family member I could take care of it, I'm happy
to take care of it, but I'm an only child too and my parents
are 62 years old. So my mom is at work, but that's fine, if
that's the only reason.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: All right.
MR. TALKIN: I hate to -- get away but it sounds
like he's legitimate.
MR. AMIR: We'll excuse him.
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection.
THE COURT: He said, it's fine. If I have to serve
on the jury, I will.
MR. TALKIN: I understand but he's all over the
place. I'm not sure if he's going to be with us and that's my
concern.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: The Government has no
objection.
THE COURT: Excused.
One more.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 39.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Good morning, Ms. Smith.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good morning.
THE COURT: How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm okay.
THE COURT: So tell me what your conflict is.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Eastern Suffolk
County. It takes me two hours to get here.
THE COURT: I know. That's a problem. We can't
really do anything about that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And I'm also helping take
care of my 90-year-old -- my father. I cook and do his
laundry and help him take care of his light chores. It's
mainly me and my sister-in-law.
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THE COURT: Right. It would only be for two weeks.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He has a tendency to like to
fall, so.
THE COURT: But does your sister-in-law help out
then when you can't do it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We sort of tag team.
THE COURT: So can you bake her a cake and tell her
we would appreciate it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't know. I don't know
the answer to that.
THE COURT: Yeah.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can't make her schedule
because she's everywhere.
THE COURT: Yeah. So, that's the question: Can
someone take over just for the short period of time that this
trial would be on?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can -- I'd have to ask
her. I -- I can't -- I can't put words in her mouth.
THE COURT: Okay.
Does anybody have any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No. Thank you.
THE COURT: Okay. We'll let you know.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Thank you, sir.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
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MR. TALKIN: Maybe also at the break ask her to call
her sister-in-law and ask her to see what the situation is
testimony her sister-in-law can cover for would week, it seems
very doable.
THE COURT: It's a two-hour commute that's in our
jury panel. That's a problem for a lot of people.
MR. AMIR: It didn't sound like the kind of home
obligation that's, like, life or death. A little forethought
could be accommodated.
THE COURT: There are a lot of 90-year-olds not
hospitalized living at home. So, at this point, she won't be
excused.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Not right now.
THE COURT: All right.
Okay.
THE CLERK: So I have 36, 38.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Your Honor, it might be
helpful to excuse them at the break that way people don't see
that their being excused after certain questions.
THE COURT: Yeah. That might be a good idea.
Maybe we should break at 12:00 just for lunch
instead of anything earlier.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court.)
THE COURT: During this trial, you will hear about
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the Small Business Administration's loans such as Paycheck
Protection Program or Economic Injury Disaster loans. Do you
have any knowledge or personal experience regarding such
loans? And that includes whether you or a family member or a
close friend ever worked for the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
The indictment alleges crimes related to the
administration of the CARES Act and the Paycheck Protection
Program, PPP, where the Government provided businesses with
loans, repayment of which would be forgiven under certain
circumstances in order to support businesses negatively
impacted by the Coronavirus.
So here's the question: Did you or a family member
or a close friend ever apply for a PPP loan?
Okay.
Sir, what's your number?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nineteen.
THE COURT: Nineteen. Could you come up, please, to
the sidebar.
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi, Mr. Hew.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. I am the small
business of a company, of a printing company. At that
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situation, I applied PPP --
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: -- for my business.
THE COURT: Let me ask you a few other questions.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure.
THE COURT: Did you actually receive a loan?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: And was repayment ultimately forgiven?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, totally.
THE COURT: Totally forgiven?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Do you have any feelings or impressions
regarding Government response to the Coronavirus and the PPP
Program that would affect your ability to be fair in this case
or your ability to be fair and impartial and make an unbias
decision as to whether the Government has proven its case
beyond a reasonable doubt?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I -- I'm not really
understand the question.
THE COURT: Is there anything about your experience
with the loan program that --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: -- would make it hard for you to be fair
in this case? You've heard what this case is about.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Actually, yes. It's really
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helpful for my business and that point, we pretty much had a
really hard time for running the business and once we have the
-- the payment, really helped me for sustain my business until
now.
THE COURT: Would that affect how you look at this
case? Could you see what happened to you is totally different
from what --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I guess it is. Yeah -- I'm
probably cannot take the case because I don't know how the
situation of the owner and -- and that part probably going to
affect my, you know -- to make a decision for the right or
wrong.
THE COURT: So I think the question is, would you be
able to listen to the evidence and keep an open mind even
though the plaintiff -- I mean the defendant has been accused
of cheating --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. Yes, yes.
THE COURT: Would be able to listen and be fair and
not have any feelings for or against the Government or the
defendant and base your decision only on what you hear in the
court?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I will listen to
everything for that.
THE COURT: Okay.
Does anybody have any questions?
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MR. TALKIN: No.
MS. GROSSMAN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No.
THE COURT: Thank you very much. I'm glad your
business worked out.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: Your Honor, I have a motion, not based
on his answer to the PPP issue. It seems like he didn't
understand your questions that well and that gives me pause
with him being a juror when he goes in the back and
deliberates. He eventually got to the answer in the question
but he answered a totally different question before. I just
have some -- a real concern about his comprehension of English
especially in the a courtroom where there's going to be legal
terms and I don't -- I'm afraid that he won't be a good juror
for this case because of that, especially a criminal matter.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Your Honor, we think we should
keep him. He clearly understood when you followed up. He
might not have understood your initial question, but when you
rephrased it, he seemed to understand you was able to answer
that he would be impartial.
THE COURT: I think his question was really about
the legal process and what a juror's role would be and I think
he thought that I somehow was asking him whether or not he had
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enough knowledge about this case to be able to make a
decision.
MR. TALKIN: And that may or may not be the case but
I wasn't able to get that. I not -- initially, he can't be
fair because it would affect me, and then when you brought him
around to -- asked him the next question, he answered it the
opposite and that's my concern. He answered the same question
two different ways and I don't think for a second he's being
dishonest, I just don't think he understood the first time and
he's not gonna have that opportunity in the jury room to get
second questions or, as a juror, he's not gonna have that same
opportunity to have everything clarified. That's my concern.
THE COURT: I think that he didn't understand what
his role as a juror would be and that he needed me to explain
it to him and once he understood it, he felt he would be able
to keep an open mind. That's my takeaway. I don't know if
you all agree.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: That's the Government's
takeaway, as well, Your Honor.
MR. AMIR: I agree.
THE COURT: Okay. So I'm not going to excuse him
for cause.
Who is the next one?
THE CLERK: Fourteen. J.
(Prospective juror joins.)
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THE COURT: Hello.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. My brother and my aunt
both applied and received funding.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: They're in construction.
THE COURT: Do you want to ask your question?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't know the details.
MR. TALKIN: The question is, the fact that this
exists, is that gonna affect you in this case at all and how
you view the case against Ms. Okeke?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. I just felt that I
should share, so.
MR. TALKIN: Thank you for answering. Thank you.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE CLERK: Thirty-eight.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a family friend --
Your Honor, one of our family friends applied for EIDL loan
during the COVID-19 pandemic. They applied and were rejected
at the time, but the family friend did walk me through the
process of how to apply for the loan, but he did not give me
the reason why he was denied for the loan.
THE COURT: Does that affect your ability to be fair
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
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THE COURT: Okay. Thanks.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE CLERK: He was already excused.
THE COURT: I know. That gives you another reason
but not really.
THE CLERK: Twenty-nine.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So my --
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. My mother's godmother
who -- she's basically a very close relative of us, I believe
she applied for PPP loans, but I don't know much else from
that. I don't know much about the program in general so I
don't -- I don't know. I think she did.
THE COURT: Okay. So I think you've answered my
question which I have not asked yet which is whether or not
there's anything about your godmother's experience with the
PPP program that could affect your ability to be fair in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't know anything about
her particular experience with it.
THE COURT: Okay. So can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Okay.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I should hope so.
THE COURT: Okay. Thanks.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Is there anybody else?
THE CLERK: I think that's it.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court.)
THE COURT: Just so you know what the timetable is,
we're going to give you a lunch break at noon and we'll come
back at 1:00, but we just want to get a little more
questioning done to be sufficient today, but I didn't want
stomach growling to be a problem for anyone.
Do or did you or a family member or a close friend
work at or for a bank either now or in the past?
Okay. So we have Juror Number 6.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Eleven.
THE COURT: Eleven.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nine.
Thirty-six.
THE COURT: Thirty-six. All right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Twenty-four.
Thirty-two.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 6, please come up.
(Continued on the following page.)
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(Continuing.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective Juror enters sidebar.)
THE COURT: How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good, good.
Earlier you had asked about a criminal trial. I had
participated in a criminal trial on jury with a verdict of
yes. I didn't know if that was relevant. You asked the
question, so I just wanted to remind you I participated there.
My wife works for Citibank. She's been there for 39
years. You asked about bank relatives.
THE COURT: What does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's in marketing.
And there was, I have good friends that are in law
enforcement. Active Nassau County PD and then also retired
Nassau County, and also retired Amityville Village, and that
was my work. I'm sorry.
THE COURT: You're doing pretty well.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, not so well.
Oh, Grand Jury. I participated in Grand Jury.
THE COURT: State Grand Jury?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nassau County.
THE COURT: Is there anything about your experiences
on the jury or Grand Jury that would make it hard to be fair
and impartial?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. Not at all.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions from the
Government.
THE COURT: Questions?
MR. TALKIN: Just the same question about you have a
lot of friends that are police or retired police.
If at the end of the case, is it going to cause you
any hesitancy if you believe that the people haven't met their
burden to say not guilty, are you willing to explain it to all
your friends?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's not a problem.
MR. TALKIN: Nothing further. Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you.
(Prospective Juror exits sidebar.)
THE COURT: We're ready for the individual
questions, unless I missed something.
MR. TALKIN: I think we replaced everybody.
THE COURT: I think we have. So we're going good.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: All right. This is the last series of
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questions.
There will be six or seven questions of just
individual questions to give the lawyers an opportunity to get
to know a little bit more about you. They have to do with
where you live and how long you've lived there, whether you
rent what education experience you've had, what kind of work
you have, either done or are doing currently, who else lives
in your household, where you get your news from, whether
you've had any military service, and whether you belong to any
organizations. It's essentially, what we ask of everyone.
Am I missing anything from the Government's
perspective?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: The defense?
MR. TALKIN: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: So we'll just start in numerical order.
Starting with Juror Number 1, where do you live and
how long do you live there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Sayville New York
which is in Suffolk County.
What else did you want to know?
THE COURT: How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, my whole life, really.
My parents bought the house when I was six months old. I
moved out for a few years, and when they passed away, I bought
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it. So I guess I bought it, I don't know, 18 years ago or
something like that.
THE COURT: What kind of education or training do
you have?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a teacher. So I have a
master's degree.
THE COURT: And what do you teach?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I teach social studies.
THE COURT: For what ages?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Twelfth grade. Right now
I'm teaching just 12th grade. I'm an economics teacher.
Usually, though, I teach 12th grade economics and 10th grade
global history. This year, just economics.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: This is my 22nd year.
THE COURT: And where do you teach?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: East Islip High School.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anybody in your job,
other than the kids?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, no.
THE COURT: And who else lives in your household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a husband -- my
husband and my daughter, Holly.
THE COURT: And how old is your daughter?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's 12.
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THE COURT: What does your husband do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He owns his own business.
He as a seafood distributor.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The internet. You know,
different websites.
THE COURT: Any ones in particular?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I wouldn't say any ones in
particular. But I do, you know, several different websites.
THE COURT: You like to look at a variety of
different news sources?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there any reason that you
could not be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Juror Number 2, where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Flushing, New York
I've lived there for 15 years.
THE COURT: I forgot to ask Juror Number 1, do you
belong to any associations, clubs?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, I do have my real
estate license. So I guess The Long Island Board of Realtors.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
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So where do you live and how long have you lived
there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Flushing, New York
for 15 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I own.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized education or
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a bachelor's degree.
THE COURT: In anything in particular?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In industrial design.
THE COURT: Are you currently working?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I'm a reinsurance
underwriter.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, I kind of boomeranged.
So I worked for the company for seven years prior to leaving
to a competitor, and I just went back. So eight months, but
also, six years and eight months.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job as I
underwriter?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I price commercial liability
insurance.
THE COURT: Have you been doing that throughout the
years you've been employed --
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I've been in the
industry for 20 years.
THE COURT: All right. Do you supervise anyone in
your current job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not officially. I'm a team
leader, but not in the sense of a true manager or a
supervisor.
THE COURT: What do you do as a team leader?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, team leaders are sort
of more of a referral desk role. So as an underwriter, we
have authority to quote business and in the capacity where we
share our thoughts and discuss our risk appetites.
THE COURT: Who else lives with you in your
household, if anyone?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am married. I live with
my husband and my 15 year old son.
THE COURT: Is and is your husband employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He is self-employed.
THE COURT: What does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's an IT consultant.
THE COURT: And is it a son or daughter?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a son.
THE COURT: And when you were a child, what were the
occupations of your family, of your parents?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Prior to immigrating to the
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State, my father was a civil engineer and my mother was a
nurse. Since coming to America, they worked in the garment
district.
THE COURT: And I should have asked Juror Number 1
that same question.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father was a police
officer, and then when he retired from that, he went into
construction, and my mother was a homemaker. She was not
employed.
THE COURT: Thank you. Where do you get your news
from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly Google News.
THE COURT: Do you ever read any newspapers or watch
any T.V. program?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: T.V. would be CNN.
Newspaper would be the Times.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or how do you
like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like to walk a lot and I
like to travel.
THE COURT: Okay. Same question for Juror Number 1.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was just thinking of that.
My leisure time is with a 12 year old, she's in travel sports,
so five nights a week, she's going somewhere with sports. So
that and then the summertime, it's the beach.
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THE COURT: Okay. Thanks. Juror Number 2, do you
belong to any clubs or organizations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do not.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there any reason that you
could not be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Thank you. Juror Number 3, where do you
live in how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Park Slopes. I
have been there for 15 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We rent.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, I have a bachelor's in
civil engineering from the Polytechnical Institute of Mexico,
and then a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the
University of California San Diego.
THE COURT: When did you get that degree?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: 2007.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Where do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work for Con Edison.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About nine years.
THE COURT: What do you do there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work in the -- we have so
many departments, but the one that I work in is distribution
engineering.
THE COURT: Who do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's kind of vague. We --
my title is just engineer. But I support the substations in
all the New York City region, including Westchester. Then
making sure all those stations, they're in, like, working
order and that's in general what I perform, what I do.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Just me and my wife.
THE COURT: Is she employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's a research analyst.
THE COURT: Self-employed or for a company?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, she works for -- I
believe the name of the company is SEU 1199.
THE COURT: Okay. And what does she do as a
research analyst?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She works for, like,
collecting -- they support many of their students. They're
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trying to get their credentials to be nurses or doctors, like
anything in the medical field, and they create programs to
help those student, like, get the credentials. And she
collects like a database, she does, like, a cell base and
stuff like that.
THE COURT: Do you have any children adults?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We have no childrens.
THE COURT: What were the occupations of your
parents?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father, he was a
mechanical engineer, and my mom, she was a housewife.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Different things, like,
sometimes from a T.V., like, CBS, CNN. Like, any of the news.
And also from the New York Times or sometimes even from, like,
a podcast.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any organizations or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Who do you like to do in your spare
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am a long-distance runner.
THE COURT: How long distance?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like marathons.
THE COURT: Wow. Okay. How many have you done?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Probably close to 20, 18,
19.
THE COURT: Did you ever win?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Never win. I just finish.
You happy to finish.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Juror Number 4, where do you live? How long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Queens,
Queens, New York. I've lived there my while life, so for 29
years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my mom, so
neither.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a bachelor's degree.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work in digital
advertising.
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THE COURT: How long have you been done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About eight years now.
THE COURT: And do you work at a company or on your
own?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work at a company.
THE COURT: What company do you work for?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a media agency called
Essence Media Co.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work with clients to help
make their digital marketing campaigns more successful, track
their business.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not officially. I'm a
project lead on certain projects where I delegate to other
people, but I don't officially manage them.
THE COURT: Is your mother employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's which home health
aide.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly the internet.
THE COURT: Any particular sources?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's really a variety. New
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York Times, Washington Post. It's really mixed. Also, social
media, as well.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any organizations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or specialized
ways you like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly just spending time
with my family and cooking. That's it.
THE COURT: Okay. Can you be fair and impartial in
this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Can I answer that one
privately, actually?
THE COURT: Yes. Come on up.
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So I don't know if I have a
yes-or-no answer to that question. I do want to disclose that
I have a lot of friends and close family who are small
business owners, and I don't know if that's going to impact at
all. But I just wanted to say that.
THE COURT: How do you think it might impact?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It just seemed like based on
some of the questions, there were a lot of small businesses
that were coming up and questions about, I don't know, how
people operate their small businesses.
THE COURT: So are you saying that you might have
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some knowledge that you acquired outside of the courtroom that
you might refer to in that time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Very little. My family will
have conversations about things like this while I'm around,
not necessarily anything that I know at the top of my mind.
But I heard PPC has come up or PPP has come up in the past.
Not that I know yes or no that they've applied or they have
knowledge about it, but it is a topic of conversation that's
around me.
THE COURT: What kinds of issues might this raise?
MR. TALKIN: I don't see any.
THE COURT: So basically, if you were on the jury,
you'd be sitting in those seats back there, and you'd be
hearing testimony, and you might be hearing testimony from
people who were witnesses for the Government, witnesses for
the defense, and they might be talking about similar things.
But they might disagree. And the question is, is there anyone
that you could think of, any type of witness, small business
owner, not small business owner, government official, whose
testimony you would automatically give greater weight to than
anyone else's, or would you be able to sit, listen to the
testimony in the courtroom, and decide what weight to give it,
based on the evidence that you hear?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think I would give
weight to one versus the other based off of any knowledge.
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THE COURT: So do you feel that you have a pretty
open mind?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: Juror Number 5. There you are.
Where do you live? How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Richmond, Queens.
I live there for almost 25 years.
THE COURT: Do you own other rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I rent.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My wife and my two kids.
THE COURT: How old are your kids?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My youngest one is 22 and
my -- the other one is 30.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really. No.
THE COURT: What's the last level of schooling that
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you finished?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I did 11th grade.
THE COURT: Okay. What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I just get early retirement.
I used to work at the school as the maintenance.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nine years.
THE COURT: And where is the school located?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In 85th Street in Manhattan.
In Lexington.
THE COURT: Okay. Does either of your children
work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do they do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: One is bartender and the
other one is business, internet business. Sell things and --
by the internet.
THE COURT: And does your wife work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does she do.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She do Uber and Lyft.
THE COURT: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Uber and Lyft.
THE COURT: Oh, Uber and Lyft, okay.
Well, that's quite a diverse household you have.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I do part time, also.
THE COURT: With the Uber and the Lyft?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: So you have, essentially, two jobs?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Or both, yes.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can't understand that
question you're saying. The news from where?
THE COURT: Well, do you read newspapers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: What happened? I can't
understand that question.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you listen to the news on the
radio, watch the news on television?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, the news, the news.
THE COURT: Get news from the internet?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Internet yes.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news, which
internet site do you like?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not -- really, I don't
understand the question. My English is not -- I understand
50/50. I understand probably -- I 10 years ago sit on a case,
but this one is too much for me. Probably I understand 50/50.
I don't know. I would like to serve because I like to serve
my country. You understand? But I don't know it is okay for
you and my English is not that good.
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THE COURT: Okay. We'll come back to you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Did you have difficulty understanding me
when I was explaining the case.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. Not really.
THE COURT: When you're at work, do you speak a lot
of English in your work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I speak with the
teachers and the students.
THE COURT: Why don't you just come up to sidebar.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure.
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello. You're welcome.
THE COURT: So why do you think you'll have trouble
understanding?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Some words, it's difficult
for me to understand. But most, I understand. I would like
to serve. Now, I'm really early retirement, I would like to
serve my country. But that's some difficult things probably
it is okay to excuse me.
THE COURT: So you think that you miss 50 percent of
what people say?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That's about it. That's
about it.
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THE COURT: Yeah. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: Nothing.
THE COURT: Yeah, I think this could be a
complicated case and could be technical and it might be
difficult for you to understand.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Okay.
THE COURT: Thank you for telling us.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: You're welcome.
THE COURT: Good luck to you.
(Prospective Juror enters sidebar.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Your Honor, do we want to wait
until we go through all of them before we excuse him so that
more people don't want to jump out.
THE COURT: Well, everybody knows his language, so I
don't think there will be --
MR. AMIR: I just think we're giving a roadmap --
THE COURT: I don't think so. We'll see.
I can wait though. I'm happy to wait until we go
through the whole list.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: Okay. Juror Number 6, where do you live
and how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Is this on? Yes. I live in
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Brooklyn. I've lived here since 2006.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a bachelor of science
in communications with a major in marketing, advertising,
public relations, and anything fun like that.
THE COURT: And do you own or rent your home?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We own.
THE COURT: I think you told us this before, but how
are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am the head of New York
America for a British letter goods company.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: With this company, for
almost two years.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have seven direct reports
and then there's approximately 25 people below them, yes.
THE COURT: Who else lives with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My husband and my daughter.
THE COURT: Is either of them employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My husband is employed, yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He works in finance using
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insurance products.
THE COURT: What kind of work did your parents do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father was in finance
working for GE and my mother was a homemaker.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A variety of sources.
Anything from New York Times to Washington Post to Apple News.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations or groups?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I volunteer through New York
Cares as regularly as my schedule allows.
THE COURT: What do you do for them?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I usually oscillate between
a group in Red Hook called Food First Pantry and/or on the
weekends, I volunteer with the Red Hook conservancy which is
another group, and if my time does permit, I also do
participate with the Fort Greene Park and do work with them on
the weekends.
THE COURT: Do you have any leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: If you did have leisure time, how would
you use it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Reading my book which I got
to do today. Thank you.
THE COURT: Is there any reason that you might not
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be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Juror Number 7.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. What's the first
question? I'm sorry.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in West Islip, but
I've lived there my whole life.
THE COURT: Do you rent or own?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We own.
THE COURT: How long have you lived in that
particular home?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: This one, three years.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My husband and I have
two children.
THE COURT: Is your husband employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's an account manager for
an IT company.
THE COURT: And how long has he done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, God, 15 years, 12 years
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somewhere around there.
THE COURT: And did either your parents work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work did he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad worked on engines and
airplanes for an aviation company, and my mom worked in
customer service and she now is an assistant for a school.
THE COURT: And are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a property insurance
adjustor.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About nine years.
THE COURT: Do you work for yourself or for a
company?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: For a company.
THE COURT: And do you have a title?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. We're considered --
well, my position is an outside property adjustor.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I would go to somebody's
house and I would evaluate the damages that they have, I would
create an estimate after I've seen if they have coverage, and
then I would settle with the insured based off of my estimate.
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THE COURT: Did you have any involvement with COVID
funds or anything similar --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really.
THE COURT: -- during the pandemic.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really. The only
difference was I had to stay home and work from home to
evaluate these people's damages, because we couldn't really go
to their house.
THE COURT: All right. I take it you weren't
involved with loans or with any PPP money or any of those
issues?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, no.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Anywhere, really. Mostly
the T.V. So like CNN, MSNBC.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My kids are in a lot of
sports, so I either have to transport them some place or I'll
be on my bike at home.
THE COURT: Is that what you do in your leisure
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Is there any reason that you would not
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be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Juror Number 8.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: So where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Whitestone,
Queens, and I've lived there basically my whole life, apart
from three years when I was younger.
THE COURT: Okay. And do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in my parents
apartment.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized training
or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm in undergrad right now.
THE COURT: Is your semester over?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Will you be going to school during the
summer?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you have a major?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. It's peace and justice
studies.
THE COURT: Where do you go to school.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Pace University.
THE COURT: What year are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm going into my last year,
fourth year.
THE COURT: And do you have any plans of what you'll
be doing after you graduate?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do your parents work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do they do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My mommy is a flight
attendant, and my dad does hospitality consulting.
THE COURT: How do you get your news?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mainly the internet.
Sometimes social media. Specifically, like, Al Jazeera, Fox,
yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you have any hobbies or things
that you like to do during your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mainly just, like, hanging
out with friends, sometimes activism. Yeah.
THE COURT: What kind of activism?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's pretty broad. Being a
peace and justice studies major, it kind of ranges. Like,
racial justice, climate justice.
THE COURT: So do you volunteer?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, it's kind of sporadic.
THE COURT: Oh, all right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you.
(Continued on the following page.)
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AFTERNOON SESSION
(In open court; prospective jurors present.)
THE COURT: Good afternoon. Please be seated.
Thank you for all being so prompt. We're going to continue
jury selection but first we'll be replacing some jurors.
They've already been replaced? Okay.
Does anybody -- those that have recently stepped
onto the panel, does anyone have any "yes" answers so far?
So Juror No. 5. Do you want to come up here? New
Juror No. 5.
(The following occurred at sidebar; prospective
juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure. I have two
questions, whether I had close relatives or friends that
received PPP over the pandemic.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That was a yes. And I also
have a friend that I know that works at a bank.
THE COURT: Okay. Let me start with your friend who
works at a bank.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm sorry?
THE COURT: Let's start with your friend who works
at a bank. What does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's a bank operations
manager. She works at Santander and I believe she got caught
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stealing and, unfortunately, they just let her go. I don't
think they brought her to court for anything. But that's as
far as I know. She confessed to it. Even though she was a
good friend, I don't condone what she did.
THE COURT: Right. Would this affect you in any way
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It might. I'm not sure. I
need to probably hear the whole case to give you a definite
answer with that but, yes.
THE COURT: So your job, if you were a juror, would
be to listen to the evidence.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: And decide whether the government has
proven by proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant
committed any of the crimes alleged. Do you think you could
sit with an open mind and listen or do you think you'll be
thinking about your friend?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I would actually side with
the bank more than my friend if this was a case for her, yes.
THE COURT: So if the question is whether or not the
defendant committed a crime, whether there's evidence, proof
beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did it, do you
think you could evaluate that fairly?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think I would believe so,
yes.
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THE COURT: Do you think, before you hear the
testimony, you would favor one side or the other or do you
have an open mind and wait to hear the evidence?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I would wait to hear the
evidence from the bank side if the bank was the victim, but
because I, it is my friend that I know that, like, stealing at
a bank is suspicious, I wouldn't side with my friend if that
was the case.
THE COURT: Do you have any questions to start?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No.
MR. TALKIN: No questions.
THE COURT: So do you think if you were the
defendant here or the government, would you, knowing what's in
your mind --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: -- would they be happy to have you on
the jury? In other words, would they think that you can be
fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I want to say yes.
THE COURT: Okay. Your job wouldn't be to decide
whether somebody should be punished.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: Your job would be is there any evidence
for the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Would you be
comfortable doing this?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I still want to say yes.
THE COURT: Okay. Any hesitation?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A little.
THE COURT: And why is that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not too sure. It still -- I
guess because I haven't heard the whole case to this case yet,
I can't, like, be impartial to both parties.
THE COURT: So you haven't made up your mind as to
the evidence yet?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, but I'm leaning more
towards yes to your questions is what I'm trying to say.
THE COURT: Oh, that, in other words, you could sit
and listen objectively and make up your mind?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: Do you need more time to think about it
or do you feel more comfortable with it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Maybe a little more time to
think about it.
THE COURT: Okay. So we'll call you back in a
little bit.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: And the other issue?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What was the first point?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The PPP.
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THE COURT: Yes, the PPP.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I work for a franchise
owner of Ben & Jerry's and over the pandemic, he applied for a
PPP relief fund and I think he got granted for it.
THE COURT: So do you have any strong feelings about
the PPP funds one way or another?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That it was helpful for us
because we were struggling. I worked with him for many years
and he's like a father figure to me so I was glad that he was
able to get some type of relief over the pandemic and we
worked through the whole thing.
THE COURT: Great.
Any questions from the government?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: How about the defense?
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. We'll call you back in a little
bit.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: I move for cause of this juror. She
said she would be biased even though she said she would do her
best. She couldn't even say to you she would be unbiased.
She said I'd like to think I could be, I'd like to think
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that's my position. She was very -- she had predispositions
I'm not even sure which way, but I can't take the chance that
it's against my client. She was all over the place but, sure,
she has predispositions that she has announced to the Court
and even under your questioning, momentarily, she went back
then again to the -- well, she started to go back to say I
think I will but she never said that she could be fair and
impartial after saying that she could not be numerous times.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Your Honor, we'd like to
respond.
I think the juror was saying that she, said she
would like to be impartial but I think the proper protocol
here would be to ask her, remind her she's under oath and ask
her whether or not she could be impartial. She seemed to
suggest that she could be but she didn't give a clear answer.
I think if Your Honor would ask her directly, remind her of
her duty and just ask her could she be impartial, yes or no, I
think that would help to clarify whether or not she would be a
juror that could fit on this.
THE COURT: We'll see when we call her back, we'll
see what she says. If she still says no --
MR. TALKIN: Your Honor, I also have an objection to
saying "I remind you you're under oath" because that can --
THE COURT: No. No.
MR. TALKIN: It can be perceived to twist arms.
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THE COURT: Okay. Next?
(In open court.)
THE CLERK: Juror 44.
(Sidebar continues; prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good. How are you?
THE COURT: Good.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: There were a couple of
questions that I said "yes" to.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: One was the travel. My
family has travel booked from the 20th to the 24th.
THE COURT: Not good. Where are you going?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Boston, north of Boston.
THE COURT: It's all booked? You have arrangements
made?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, we have a car booked.
THE COURT: Okay. That's right during the trial so
this trial wouldn't be a good thing for you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The others are I previously
worked for a bank. That's 20 years ago.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But I did. And I
technically benefited from a PPP loan. My company applied,
not me personally, but they did receive one.
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THE COURT: Okay. Well, thank you. We'll be back
to you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Was that the only employment
related question was working for a bank?
THE COURT: No, law employment and a few others.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Do you want --
THE COURT: No, I don't think so. I think we've
heard enough.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. AMIR: We think we'll most likely be done by
then.
THE COURT: But we might not be done in time for her
trip.
MR. TALKIN: I move --
MR. AMIR: It seems a remote chance the trial won't
be that long, plus she can join her family later.
MR. TALKIN: I don't want my client to be at the
whims of how she feels about whether she joins her family
later or we don't know. We've let other jurors go for similar
concerns and I think this is --
THE COURT: Yes. I'm going to excuse her.
(In open court.)
THE CLERK: Juror 14.
(Sidebar continues; prospective juror joins.) .
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I had the one question about
banking. My cousin's husband is a vice president for Chase.
THE COURT: Would that affect your ability to be
fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, but I wanted to
disclose. You're probably going to smirk about it.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
(In open court.)
THE CLERK: Juror 41.
(Sidebar continues; prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon.
THE COURT: Hi. Good afternoon.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I tried to get this moved to
a closer location because it's too much travel for me. It's,
like, the distance.
THE COURT: Where do you live?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Out east.
THE COURT: How far east?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Middle Suffolk County, West
Babylon area.
THE COURT: Unfortunately, the way our jury plan has
been approved, it's all the way from Staten Island to Montauk.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I get that.
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THE COURT: And that's --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Being out of work all these
days, I lose too much money to pay my bills.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I run a dealership, a Mack
Truck dealership. The biggest Mack Truck dealership on the
East Coast.
THE COURT: So who takes over when you're sick?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like some guy fills in for
me. I actually ran outside to call making sure everything was
all right. Thank God nothing was going bad today.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: If the trucks don't go, we
don't get supplies.
THE COURT: The problem is that everyone is
required --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't have problems with
doing it but if it would be closer to my house, it would be
easier.
THE COURT: Unfortunately, we're not in control of
the locations for the jury pool. So it's going to be very
hard for us.
Okay. Any other questions?
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MR. GREENSPAN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Any thoughts?
MR. AMIR: It does seem like he'd rather work excuse
to me.
MR. TALKIN: I mean I feel for him but --
MR. GREENSPAN: We have to sit jurors from Suffolk
County.
MR. TALKIN: I do understand the problem but that's
a court-wide problem as opposed to this case.
THE COURT: It's the way the jury plan was approved.
Okay. Let's do Juror No. 43 now.
(In open court.)
THE CLERK: Juror No. 43, can you please come back
up?
(Sidebar continues; prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi. We don't want you to feel any
pressure at all.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: We just want you to just respond the way
you really feel.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: So if you feel that there would be some
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way that you might be thinking of your friend and may be
influenced, you know, to favor the bank over the defendant or
vice versa, the defendant over the bank, then this wouldn't be
the right case for you. If you think that you could sit and
put everything out of your mind and listen to only what's
happening in court --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: -- and be fair and impartial on this
case, then this would be the right case for you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. I do have a tendency
to lean more for the bank side than the defendant.
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So --
THE COURT: So you think you might be, even before
hearing the evidence, that you might --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Kind of, yes.
THE COURT: -- be biased towards the bank?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Well, thank you for your honesty. I
think this is not the right case for you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm sorry. Thank you.
THE COURT: Not a problem.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
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MR. TALKIN: I move to cause. I renew my motion for
cause.
THE COURT: Granted. For 43?
MR. TALKIN: Yes, I renew my motion for cause.
THE COURT: Granted.
MR. TALKIN: Thank you.
THE COURT: Okay.
(In open court; sidebar ends.)
THE CLERK: Juror No. 43 , you are excused.
(Prospective juror excused.)
THE CLERK: Replacing Prospective Juror No. 43 is
Juror No. 45, Luis Chiguichon. Can you please take seat
number 5. Thank you.
Juror No. 44, you are excused.
(Prospective juror excused.)
THE CLERK: Replacing Prospective No. 44 is No. 46,
David Perez. Can you please come take seat 13.
THE COURT: Those of you who were just recently
chosen, does any one of you have a "yes" answer to any of my
past questions?
You're Juror No. 46?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, 46.
THE COURT: Can you come up to the sidebar, please.
(The following occurred at sidebar; prospective
juror joins.)
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THE COURT: Hi, Mr. Perez.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello. Work.
THE COURT: You have a conflict?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, work.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do overnight. I just came
in from Whole Foods and then I do more time on another job.
THE COURT: Could you hear?
MR. TALKIN: I could not hear.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So I do overnight at
Whole Foods.
THE COURT: What do you do at Whole Foods?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do retail, stocking
cheese, beer. Then I do another job during the day.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: All right. So do you have another
source of income or is that your only income?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, my two incomes is there.
THE COURT: I'm sorry?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Those are my two incomes.
THE COURT: Both at Whole Foods? You said two
incomes. One is Whole Foods.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And the other one is
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Family Dollar.
THE COURT: Where do you work at the Family Dollar?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's, like, four blocks.
It's in Brooklyn.
THE COURT: What hours do you work there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's 10 to 1.
THE COURT: So you work from 10 to 1 at
Family Dollar?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: And then overnight is from
10 to 6.
THE COURT: If you had jury duty, would they pay
you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Are you sure?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Just PTO hours, I only have
like 20. I would have to take time off.
THE COURT: But do they know that you've been called
for jury duty?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So on Friday, when I called,
they said I was going to come today so I let them know on
Sunday and they said just today was excused.
THE COURT: You're worried you'll lose your income
or your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm pretty sure I would lose
my job because PTO hours is only 20. So I could only come for
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three days if I came.
THE COURT: Because it's illegal to fire someone
because they're on jury duty.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure how that works.
Only I'm -- I only know.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No.
THE COURT: Any other "yes" answers or is that it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, that's just it.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: It's illegal to fire someone
because they're on jury duty. I don't think --
THE COURT: It's not legal to do that, but --
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes, I mean we're fine.
MR. AMIR: I mean it's not -- the only thing I'm
sympathetic is that he has to work overnight and then come
here having not slept. Other than that, I find it a little
bit uncompelling, but if he were to come here after not having
slept, that would impair his ability to serve as a juror. So
I don't think we would oppose his being struck.
MR. TALKIN: That's fine. We'll consent.
THE COURT: Okay. Let's excuse him. He's going to
be stressed.
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MR. AMIR: Yes.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Should we maybe wait to
announce the other people that are excused until the
mid-afternoon break because it seems that people might be
getting the indication that --
MR. AMIR: -- if they say yes, they get to leave.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. GREENSPAN: That's fine.
THE CLERK: Twenty-six checked his passport
appointment during the break so he would like to come up.
THE COURT: Okay.
(In open court.)
THE CLERK: Juror Number 26.
(Sidebar continues; prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I wanted to confirm that my
conflict was on June 20th, Thursday, at 12:00 p.m. You told
me to ask after the break.
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think it's just that.
MR. AMIR: It's right on the cusp.
THE COURT: I think we should excuse him.
MR. AMIR: No objection from us.
THE COURT: We'll excuse you. You've been waiting
for this appointment.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sorry?
THE COURT: We'll excuse you because of that
appointment.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you so much,
Your Honor. Is that it?
THE COURT: Yes. Go back in your seat.
He was 26.
Okay. Is there anybody else?
THE CLERK: Forty-two.
(In open court.)
THE CLERK: Juror No. 42.
(Sidebar continues; prospective juror joins. )
THE COURT: Hello.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My English is my
second language and I, you know, I can read simple and
communicate simple but, you know, really complicate, I cannot
do it.
THE COURT: Have you been able to understand me?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Well, that's a start.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Huh?
THE COURT: That's good.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But, you know what, I don't
want to waste you time. So you said -- if you want to keep me
here, I will stay but I want to tell you, tell you the truth
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because, you know, my hearing and communication not so well in
English because that's secondary.
THE COURT: If you could understand me, I was
discussing fairly complicated topics and if you understood --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. You know, when you, in
the beginning, talk about the case, I really don't quite
understand it.
THE COURT: Well, we haven't talked much about the
case.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But you, at the beginning,
you just talk about what, the bank and everything, you know, I
just can't understand it.
THE COURT: Are you working?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I working at Chinese
company, patient care associate.
THE COURT: And what do you do there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Patient care.
THE COURT: So --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a pharmacy.
THE COURT: Oh, it's a pharmacy?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. And do you -- are your customers
English speaking and Chinese speaking?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Most of them, 95 percent is
Chinese customer.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
All right. Thank you very much.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: It's fine. On consent.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: She spoke English fine.
MR. TALKIN: But we can't divine --
THE COURT: She told me she understood everything I
said.
MR. AMIR: She spoke perfectly fluently. This is
the Eastern District of New York. Plenty of people are not
native English speakers.
MR. TALKIN: I don't know what else to say but she
said she didn't understand the law when you talked at the
beginning of the case.
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. AMIR: I think there's a distinction between
understanding what wire fraud means and it's a confusing term
and understanding everything you've said to her, she responded
perfectly, albeit with an accent. I don't think we should
strike people who aren't native English speakers.
MR. TALKIN: I agree with that but I don't agree
with not striking them when they say they don't understand --
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THE COURT: Without giving a test --
MR. TALKIN: -- and they're concerned about it.
THE COURT: Without giving her a test, we don't know
that she has sufficient skills so we'll have to rely on what
she says. So I am going to excuse her.
Anybody else?
THE CLERK: That's it for this round.
THE COURT: Okay.
(In open court; sidebar ends.)
THE COURT: The next series of questions concerns
law enforcement, your relationship with law enforcement.
Is there anyone here who works in law enforcement?
Anybody here who has a close family member or a
close friend who is employed in law enforcement?
Yes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My Godfather is a cop, a
police officer.
THE COURT: Do you discuss his work with him?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't really discuss a lot
with him about it.
THE COURT: So would the testimony of a law
enforcement officer and someone who is not a law enforcement
officer about the same fact, could you listen to the testimony
and decide which you find more credible?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
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THE COURT: Or do you think you would be biased
towards one or the other?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think I could still, I
could still discern the truth.
THE COURT: Okay. Anyone else, a close friend or
family member?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My stepfather.
THE COURT: Okay. Could you come up to sidebar
please.
(The following occurred at sidebar; prospective
juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My stepfather is an officer.
He's a cop in Freeport.
THE COURT: I think the court reporter -- you need
to look at the court reporter so she can hear.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My stepfather is a cop in
Freeport.
THE COURT: Okay. How long has he done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's been there for like
30 years or something, yes.
THE COURT: Do you talk about his work with him?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sometimes he does.
THE COURT: And it's possible that there will be
testimony in this case from law enforcement officers and
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civilians, essentially, about the same issues and they may
disagree. Do you think you could listen with an open mind or
do you think you would necessarily favor law enforcement or
non, or disfavor law enforcement?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not really sure. It's
possible. I don't want to say, like, yes or no.
THE COURT: Well, right now, do you think that you
might have a bias?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I could, yes. I guess, yes.
THE COURT: So, for example, if it were just really
simple testimony about whether the light at an intersection
was green or red and there was going to be a law enforcement
witness or non-law enforcement witness and one said green and
the other said red, do you think you would be able to examine
their positions critically and try to see who had the best
opportunity to see the light, where they were standing from,
et cetera, et cetera, or do you think you would start off
favoring law enforcement, for example, or disfavoring law
enforcement?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure. I'm not sure
exactly what you mean, like, if it was testimony, like, I
didn't see the light myself. If --
THE COURT: You didn't see it. You were seated on
the jury. And you heard -- you heard a police officer testify
about an event, you know, whether a light was red or green or
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whether it was raining outside or who they identified, and
there was someone who was not a law enforcement officer who
was testifying about the same thing but disagreed, they each
had a different perception of what happened.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Probably, yes, I would
probably be a little biased towards one party over the other.
THE COURT: Which one would it be?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'd probably -- the law
enforcement officer.
THE COURT: So it would take more evidence to
convince you that the law enforcement officer was wrong --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Yes.
THE COURT: -- than it would for a civilian?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No questions.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm good?
THE COURT: Thank you very much.
(Continued on next page.)
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(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Continuing.)
MR. OLLEN: We move for cause, Your Honor.
MR. AMIR: No opposition.
THE COURT: Granted.
We'll hold off a little bit longer.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court.)
THE COURT: When I speak of law enforcement officers
or agencies, that would include, the U.S. Attorney's Office
for the Eastern District of New York, the United States
Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
the Office of the Inspector General for the Board of
Governors -- or the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection with the
United States Small Business Administration or FDIC, Federal
Deposit Insurance Company.
Does anybody work for any of those agencies or have
any close family members or friends that do?
Even if you're not currently employed by any of
those agencies, have you ever been employed by a law
enforcement agency?
Have you ever had close family members and friends
who were employed by a law enforcement agency?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father was a police
officer but he's been deceased for over 22 years.
THE COURT: Would that affect your ability to be
fail and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, that wouldn't affect my
ability.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Have you or any member of your family or a close
friend, either as an individual or in the course of business,
ever been a party to a legal action or dispute with the
United States?
Have you ever been sued by the United States, you've
ever sued the United States or any of its agencies, its
officers, its departments or employees?
Is there anyone here who is a lawyer?
Anyone who is here a paralegal or law trained in any
way?
Has anyone here ever had any education or training
or applied to work for or actually worked for or volunteered
for any area of criminal defense such as a public defenders
office, a law office or a private investigation firm?
Do you have any close family members or friends who
are attorneys or employees of a law firm?
Okay. Three of you. I think we can answer from
where you are.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I have many friends
who are lawyers. No, it will not affect my decision.
THE COURT: Do any of them work in criminal defense
or are they mostly civil lawyers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Real -- no criminal that I
can think of.
THE COURT: Okay.
So that was Juror Number 6.
Who in the second row? Juror Number 9?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a family member who
is an intern at a law firm.
THE COURT: Currently?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, currently.
THE COURT: Do you know what kind of law firm it is?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure exactly what
they do. I think they cover a bunch of things, though.
THE COURT: Do you know the name of the firm?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I know it's in Mineola over
near Roosevelt Field Mall. I don't know the name of the firm.
THE COURT: Do you ever discuss work with your
friend who is the intern?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I do not.
THE COURT: Would that influence you in any way in
this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, it would not.
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THE COURT: Anyone else?
Row three? On the side here? Row four, with yes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work for a law firm in
Manhattan. My best friend's husband that owns his own law
firm is now recently deceased, but I'm very close friends with
them.
THE COURT: And what is the name of the firm?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Carnegate, Adelsbach and
Bernstein (phonetic.)
THE COURT: Do any of them do criminal law?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My girlfriend's husband did,
yes.
THE COURT: Okay. Would that affect -- that your
girlfriend's husband was a criminal lawyer affect you in any
way in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Anyone else?
Yes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a good friend. He's
in insurance law.
THE COURT: Insurance law?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. No criminal.
THE COURT: Okay. Would that affect you in any way
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
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Jury Selection
THE COURT: Have you or any member of your family or
close friends ever been involved in a lawsuit of any kind?
We'll start with Juror Number 9.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad owns some McDonald's
restaurants and he's been involved in lawsuits revolving
around that.
THE COURT: Is there anything about that experience
that would make it difficult for you to be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think so.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE CLERK: 29.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My mother was in a
vehicular accident. So regarding the injuries and insurance
claims.
THE COURT: And that was a civil lawsuit?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Is there anything about that --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: -- nothing that would affect you in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay.
You will hear about what allegedly happened at
poplar bank, bang could poppy lar spin issue and testimony
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Jury Selection
from witnesses that worked at P bank. Do you currently have
an account at poplar bank or P B?
Have you ever had an account there in the past?
Do you have any other experience with Popular Bank
or Banco Popular.
You may hear testimony from what are called
cooperating witnesses in this case, people who have pleaded
guilty and have entered into an agreement with the Government
to testify.
The Government has agreed to bring the witness's
cooperation to the attention to the sentencing judge by
writing a letter. Based on that letter, the judge might
impose a sentence on the cooperating witness that is less than
he or she would have otherwise received. The Government is
permitted to enter into these kinds of agreements. The jury
may take the terms of such agreements into account together
with other factors that bear on the issue of credibility in
evaluating the witness's credibility.
Is there anything -- well, is there anybody here who
has any strong opinions by cooperating witnesses?
Is there anything about the fact that a witness is
cooperating in exchange for leniency that would prevent you
from being a fair and impartial juror in this case?
Will you be able to follow the Court's
instructions -- is there anyone who will not be able to follow
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the Court's instructions on how to evaluate the credibility of
such a witness?
I think what this is getting at is anyone who
testifies at a trial as a witness can be evaluated by you, the
jury, to determine the credibility of their testimony, and the
question is whether or not you will be able to fairly and
objectively to evaluate the testimony of a cooperating
witness, is there is any reason why you will not be able to do
that?
Is that a fair statement of the Government's
concern?
MR. AMIR: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Is that a fair statement of the
defense's concern?
MR. OLLEN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay.
Have you or any of your close friends or relatives
ever been the victim of a crime or the witness to a crime?
Do you want come up to sidebar.
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was robbed at gunpoint
when I was a late teen. So that's 30 years ago.
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THE COURT: Okay. But you have not forgotten it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have not forgotten it. It
was quite frightening.
THE COURT: I can imagine.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But they catched the guy and
he's in jail, so.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there anything about that
experience that you would affect you in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think so.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think it's a different
crime.
THE COURT: And different person and different time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: All right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a lot older and wiser
now.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. POWERS: No questions.
MR. AMIR: No.
THE COURT: No questions?
MR. GREENSPAN: Was there a trial in that hearing?
Did you have to testify or anything?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I did not have to testify.
I think because I was underage.
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THE COURT: I think I'm not going to pursue that
anything further, but is there anything that -- we've seen you
before, right? You've had a chance to think. Is there
anything that you have not mentioned to us that would affect
your ability to be fair and impartial or you feel pretty
comfortable that you can be?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm pretty comfortable.
THE COURT: Good. Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court.)
THE COURT: Now, in the beginning of morning, I
asked if you ever served on a jury, so this is a follow-up to
those questions. Have you ever served on a grand jury in a
state or federal court?
Okay. Is there anything about that experience that
would make it difficult for you to be fair and impartial? I'm
speaking to Juror Number 4.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: And there was another hand.
Hi. Anything about that experience that would make
it difficult for you to be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really. One case was
about -- against a law enforcement person, so -- but --
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THE COURT: Do you want to come up -- why don't you
come up to sidebar and talk for a second.
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hello again.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: If you can come around this side.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It was a case where an
officer actually shot someone in a car, so I'm -- but I don't
think it would impact me, but it was -- he was found guilty of
being intoxicated and just shooting someone.
THE COURT: Do you think the criminal justice system
worked the way it should have?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: And --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It did.
THE COURT: And do you think the grand jury
functioned the way it should have in that case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: And you were involved with the grand
jury, is it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Grand jury, yes.
THE COURT: Do you know what happened with the case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, he was found guilty.
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THE COURT: Okay. So you've had experience on a
jury to decide credibility of witnesses and whether or not
there's sufficient evidence at least to bring an indictment?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, that's the only time
I've ever been on an --
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But there were all law
enforcement that were witnesses, so -- anyway, that's it.
THE COURT: All right. So do you think you can be
fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I can. Yeah.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
Thank you, again.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. AMIR: Thank you.
THE COURT: Do you want me to go through whether
civil juries, if they sat on and reached verdicts? I think we
had raised this but we didn't really get to question them
individually.
MR. OLLEN: I think you had raised it.
THE COURT: I don't see the need for it.
MR. OLLEN: I guess the only thing I would ask that
you follow-up is if they understand the difference between a
verdict in a civil case and a criminal case and how it's a
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different standard, other than that.
THE COURT: Right.
MR. OLLEN: And they'll be able to follow that.
Other than that --
THE COURT: I did mention the proof beyond a
reasonable doubt and I think I've said it about 20 times but
I'm happy to say it again.
MR. OLLEN: Just so they understand it's different
in a civil case.
THE COURT: Absolutely.
Anything else you feel strongly about before I get
back to see what's going on?
MR. OLLEN: No.
THE COURT: So basically we've covered everything
that needs to be covered at this point.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: So far we have.
THE COURT: Except for the individuals --
MR. AMIR: Names and places.
THE COURT: Names and places and individual
questions, that's it.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
MR. AMIR: Yes, that's right, and I assume once
we've kind of narrowed the universe, we will ask questions
about like what kind of news they watch?
That will be at the end of questions.
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MR. AMIR: That's what I thought.
THE COURT: People don't read newspapers anymore.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court.)
THE COURT: A question and then just a statement.
We'll start with the statement. You probably have understood
from the beginning of this jury selection that there's a
difference in the standard of proof between a civil case and a
criminal case.
In a criminal case, the Government has to prove each
and every charge against a defendant by proof beyond a
reasonable doubt. That is not the same standard as in a civil
case. So those of you who may have served on civil juries
know that in most cases, the standard is proof by
preponderance of the evidence, that means just a little bit
more likely than not that the proof is true. In very rare
cases, proof can be by clear and convincing evidence.
This case here is a criminal case and the issue is
whether or not the Government has proven charges against the
defendant by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. I just want to
make sure that that's clear to everyone.
And you're in the home stretch. I think this was
clear in the questions I asked before, but I want to make sure
I didn't miss this:
Is there anyone here who has ever been arrested for
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or convicted of a crime either you or your family member or a
close friend? And all answers will, of course, be at sidebar.
Okay. Ma'am, I think you're not called yet.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm behind so -- is this
okay I'm not if the first row --
THE COURT: I don't think you're in the group that
answers quite yet. Thanks.
Okay. Now I am going to read you a list of
potential witness in the case. There are, by no means, any
guarantee or likelihood that all of them will be witnesses in
the case or will testify, but the purpose of reading is to
make sure that none of you knows any of the individuals or
places that we're talking about.
All right. You've already been introduced to those
sitting at counsel's table and you've all told me, except for
one of you, that you don't know anyone at counsel's table. Is
that still correct? Is there anyone who knows someone that
you now realize, that you didn't realize before?
Okay. I'm just going to read the names again.
Anuli Okeke, Sanford Talkin, Esquire,
Noam Greenspan, Esquire, Assistant U.S. Attorney
Turner Buford, Chand Edwards-Balfour, Adam Amir,
Jennifer Bilinkas, Samuel Ronchetti, Michaela Ausbrooks, and
Jeff Tomson.
Elvin Adames, A-D-A-M-E-S; Jose Anormaliza,
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A-N-O-R-M-A-L-I-Z-A; Mark Balsam; Hashim Campbell;
Anthony Castro; Mary Cvengros, I'm going to spell that,
C-V-E-N-G-R-O-S; Tenin Diallo, first name Tenin, T-E-N-I-N,
last name Diallo, D-I-A-L-L-O; Stephen Donnelly;
Carlos Gorgas; Bernadette Kouame, last name is spelled
K-O-U-A-M-E; Brahima Lengane, first name, B-R-A-H-I-M-A,
Brahima, last name Lengane, L-E-N-G-A-N-E; Jeff Tomson you've
heard; Peter Tsakonas, T-S-A-K-O-N-A-S; Lauren Munoz,
Auguste Nipabi, last name spelled N-I-P-A-B-I; Daniel Onove,
O-N-O-V-E; Richard Pinero; Guadalupe Ponce; Lenny Sanchez;
Israel Viloria; Charleane Wint, W-I-N-T; Assana Zampaligre,
Z-A-M-P-A-L-I-G-R-E; Shelly Zielinski, Z-I-L-I-N-S-K-I;
Carlos Maldonado; Dareen Cofield; David Thomas;
Donnell Gaskins; Jesse Rolan; Kizzilie Davis, K-I-Z-Z-I-L-I-E;
Michael De Leon; Naeem Cofield, first name spelled, N-A-E-E-M,
last name, C-O-F-I-E-L-D; Ricardo Miranda; Yalitza Soto,
Y-A-L-I-T-I-Z-A; Benadette Kouame; Fatoumata Bamba; first name
F-A-T-O-U-M-A-T-A, last name Bamba, B-A-M-B-A;
Benedite Kouassi, B-E-N-E-D-I-T-E, K-O-U-A-S-S-I;
Fatime Lengane; Alicia Vignola, and that's it.
Any other names I haven't mentioned?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes, Your Honor. Would you
like me to hand up the list or would you like me to read it?
THE COURT: Is there more on the list? Oh, I have
the recent entities and I have the places. Are there any
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other --
Okay. You can read the names off. You're better at
pronouncing them.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Bakary Diarra, Chas Kerin, and
there was one more, Raymond Ruiz.
THE COURT: How do you spell the last name?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: R-U-I-Z.
THE COURT: Thank you.
All right. Now we have relevant entities. So we
have Popular Bank, Small Business Administration, R.R.
Franklin Avenue, Inc., Rapid Realty NYC, Car Expert Auto
Group, AutoNext, Global Auto Sales, Sorayas House of Beauty,
Mommy's African Hair Braiding, Ni Global Enterprises, first
word is N-I, Hot Spot Clothing, Assana Hair Braiding, Fatim's
Hair Braiding and Business Space, Benne Hair Braiding, Laser
Cut Barbershop, Hot Spot Clothing, C+C Apartment Management,
LLC.
Any yes answers?
And places, I assume that these places, since
they're fairly generic and we're talking about where people
live, work, or are familiar with.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: That's correct, Your Honor.
THE COURT: So the first one is 125th Street in
Manhattan. Anybody work there, live there, spend a lot of
time there?
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Oxford Road, New Rochelle, New York; Boston Road,
Bronx, New York; Plymouth Avenue, Bronx, New York; Emmons
Avenue, Brooklyn, New York?
Any yes answers?
Okay. Allison, would you like to read the names of
those --
THE CLERK: Okay.
Juror Number 46, you're excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 46 with Juror Number 47,
Paul Scheeren. Can you please take seat number 13.
Juror Number 26, you're excused. Juror Number 48,
Regine Curmon, could you please take seat number 26.
Juror Number 42, you are excused. Juror Number 49, Renan
Tavera, would you please take seat 27. Thank you. And then
Juror Number 22, you're excused. Replacing Prospective Juror
Number 22 with Juror Number 50.
Great. Thank you.
THE COURT: All right. Welcome. Do any of you have
any yes answers to my questions?
All right. In the first row, anyone? Second row?
Third row?
Sir? Please.
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
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THE COURT: Mr. Scheeren, tell me what are your yes
answers.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not exactly sure the
scope of business involvement with the federal government and
payments. Is it specific to Covid? I had a farm and I
participated substantially with the federal government in
credit -- lines of credit that were backed by the government;
subsidiary payments for my crops, disaster payments, etcetera.
None of it was Covid related, but it was a tangled
relationship with the federal government.
THE COURT: Okay. So we'll start with the precise
question. This case is basically about Covid, right?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No Covid money was involved.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there anything about that
relationship with the Government that would make it hard for
you to be fair and impartial to the Government or someone who
is being charged by the Government?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think I could be fair. I
do have, as I said, a ten-year relationship that was rather
extensive. Being a farmer, you're in and out of federal
government all the time and, so, my experience was all good
and I think I could be fair, but I will be coming to it with
ten years of experience in that type of thing.
THE COURT: Okay. But when you say fair, do you
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have an open mind as to the facts in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do.
THE COURT: And without hearing any testimony, would
you think that you might favor one side or the other?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I don't.
THE COURT: Okay.
Any questions from the Government?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions from the
Government.
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. OLLEN: None from us.
THE COURT: Okay.
Where was your farm?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Upstate. Just north of
Albany. Little town called Schaghticoke.
THE COURT: Schaghticoke?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. Great. We'll be back to you in a
little bit with more individual questions unless you would
rather all hear those now.
MR. OLLEN: No. Nothing.
THE COURT: Thanks a lot.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hello. How are you? Please come over
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here.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure. A couple of yeses.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have travel booked
June 19th and also on the 23rd. June 19th is a ferry,
June 23rd is travel to Charlotte. All that information is on
my phone which is downstairs. I have two retired family
members in law enforcement.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: One was assistant deputy
warden of Riker's Island. The other one was Manhattan Transit
District Four which is involved, right now, in a pending court
case. I just don't know anything about it. I think -- oh, my
boyfriend of 15 years is the assistant vice president of
lending for Suffolk Credit Union on the island. That's pretty
much it. I think I got all the questions there. I don't
know -- I'm trying to think of anything else.
THE COURT: That's pretty good.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've been here for a long
time.
THE COURT: I'm going to ask the Government if you
have any questions you would like to ask.
MR. AMIR: Just on your travel. Can you just
elaborate a little more on that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: June 19th I have ferry
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reservations to go up to New London and up to Rhode Island,
and June 23rd I have vacation booked to Charlotte to the 23rd
to 26th.
THE COURT: On the 19th you said?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Rhode Island ferry
reservations out of Orient Point.
THE COURT: Is that for work --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I come back on the 21st and
then I fly out to -- I fly down to Charlotte on the 23rd.
THE COURT: Is this business or --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Pleasure.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. OLLEN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you so much.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection to moving for
cause.
MR. OLLEN: We agree.
THE COURT: Juror stricken.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 48.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Good afternoon.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon.
THE COURT: Ms. Curmon?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: If you could stand right over there for
the court reporter. Great.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do have a trip planned for
this week and I come back Monday. I do have a brother who was
just released from federal prison -- was it federal. I'm not
sure, and I have a sister that's in the Army that's studying
to be a lawyer, and I do have a cousin that works for a law
firm.
THE COURT: Okay. Let's start with your vacation
plans.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: I'm sure that's what you're thinking
about. When do you leave?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thursday morning.
THE COURT: How do you travel?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm flying out.
THE COURT: Where are you going to?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nother Carolina.
THE COURT: When are you coming back?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Monday afternoon.
THE COURT: I think we're starting Monday morning so
I think it probably won't work for you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Do you have flexible reservations?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't. I didn't get the
insurance.
THE COURT: Okay.
Any questions from anyone?
MR. OLLEN: No questions.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: The Government does not object
to removing her.
MR. OLLEN: Nor do we.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hello.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi, Your Honor.
THE COURT: How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good. How are you?
THE COURT: Good. What brings you up here?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think I could be
fair and impartial for this trial, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Why?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I know it's not totally
similar situation, but I have a couple coworkers right now,
close coworkers that are out on disability and I know deep
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down inside, I don't have any evidence or anything, I know
just the way they talk and joke around that -- and just by
observing them physically, that they're lying and that they're
doing something fraudulent.
THE COURT: So I think what you're saying is you're
using your analytical skills, your ability to observe and to
look at the evidence and you've made up your mind about your
coworkers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Could you do the same thing on a jury?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I probably -- with this
particular trial, I probably do the same since it's about
fraud and I know -- I know that people could easily just do
fraud.
THE COURT: People also could not do fraudulent
things as well. So, I mean, the question really is, would you
be able to separate those who do fraudulent transactions from
those who didn't or would you just, merely because the
Government has accused them of a crime, would that be enough
to make you believe that it's more likely than not that they
did it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I keep thinking the fact
that the defendant who is in court, that there must be
substantial evidence against her and my mind is already
leaning towards her being guilty.
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THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work in a post office.
THE COURT: Okay. How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: 16 years.
THE COURT: Okay.
Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions from the
Government.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. OLLEN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you for --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you, Your Honor.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. OLLEN: I move for cause.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objection from the
Government.
THE COURT: Yeah. Okay.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 7 wants to come up.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi. How are you doing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do not fully understand,
like, everything that you're saying, like, because of the
language barrier. Like, a lot of the details about the case,
like, I do not understand them fully.
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THE COURT: What's your native language?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Russian.
THE COURT: Russian?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: How old are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm 21.
THE COURT: Are you still in school?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. I'm in college.
Like, I can understand the majority of what you're saying, but
certain details, I don't, like, I'm -- I'm missing them.
THE COURT: Is school out for you -- where do you go
to school?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I go to City College.
THE COURT: Okay. Is the semester over right now or
are you still in school?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm taking a summer
semester.
THE COURT: When does it start?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Today.
THE COURT: So you couldn't be on the jury anyway,
you would miss school for two weeks.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's online.
THE COURT: Oh, it's online?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: So what did you not understand?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like, when you were talking
about the case, like, a lot of the words, I did not know the
meaning of them.
THE COURT: Okay.
Does anybody have any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. OLLEN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. You probably are exposed to a lot
of pretty diverse words in school too.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. I'm a psychology
major, but, like, when you -- like, it's easier for me to
learn, like, in a textbook, but with a spoken language, it's
harder for me to -- to understand it.
THE COURT: How long have you been in this country?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've been ten years but I'm
like -- all my surroundings is Russian speaking, like, my
friends, my family.
THE COURT: Well, you sound pretty articulate and
pretty fluent and your accent's good.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: So, anyway, no questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: No questions?
MR. OLLEN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thanks.
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(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. OLLEN: I'll move for cause. I mean, I
understand he's in college and he's a psychology major and it
doesn't make a ton of sense, however, he told us that he can
dig into the books and figure it out but when he hears it, and
that's what's going to be happening here for the most part,
and he's not going able to analyze it like he would if we have
some legal terms come up.
MR. POWERS: No objection from the Government.
THE COURT: I agree but I have to say that when you
get an accent like that, that's that good and he's that
fluent, I think it's unlikely --
MR. OLLEN: I understand but we've got to take him
at his word.
THE COURT: I will.
MR. AMIR: I also find it troubling he came up now
when it wasn't really called for. So as a matter of listening
and following instructions, it's problematic.
THE COURT: Okay.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court.)
THE COURT: I think we might as well have everyone
come up at this point. So let's replace those jurors.
Juror Number 50, you're excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 50, Juror Number 51, John Railton.
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Could you please take seat number 22. Should be in one of
those front rows.
Juror Number 48, you're excused. Replacing
Prospective Juror Number 48, Juror Number 52, John Pulice.
Could you please take seat number 26. Juror Number 49, you're
excused. Replacing Juror Number 49 with Juror Number 43,
Ms. Islam. Could you please take seat -- 53. Sorry. Seat
27. Sorry about that. Juror Number 7, you are excused.
Replacing Prospective Juror Number seven, Juror Number 54,
Celia Granda. Can you please take seat number 7.
Do any of the recently called jurors have a yes
answer to any of my questions?
Sir, please come up.
(Sidebar conference.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Continued on the following page.)
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(Continuing.)
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
(Prospective Juror enters sidebar.)
THE COURT: How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good, good.
Earlier you had asked about a criminal trial. I had
participated in a criminal trial on jury with a verdict of
yes. I didn't know if that was relevant. You asked the
question, so I just wanted to remind you I participated there.
My wife works for Citibank. She's been there for 39
years. You asked about bank relatives.
THE COURT: What does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's in marketing.
And there was, I have good friends that are in law
enforcement. Active Nassau County PD and then also retired
Nassau County, and also retired Amityville Village, and that
was my work. I'm sorry.
THE COURT: You're doing pretty well.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, not so well.
Oh, Grand Jury. I participated in Grand Jury.
THE COURT: State Grand Jury?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nassau County.
THE COURT: Is there anything about your experiences
on the jury or Grand Jury that would make it hard to be fair
and impartial?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. Not at all.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions from the
Government.
THE COURT: Questions?
MR. TALKIN: Just the same question about you have a
lot of friends that are police or retired police.
If at the end of the case, is it going to cause you
any hesitancy if you believe that the people haven't met their
burden to say not guilty, are you willing to explain it to all
your friends?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's not a problem.
MR. TALKIN: Nothing further. Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you.
(Prospective Juror exits sidebar.)
THE COURT: We're ready for the individual
questions, unless I missed something.
MR. TALKIN: I think we replaced everybody.
THE COURT: I think we have. So we're going good.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: All right. This is the last series of
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questions.
There will be six or seven questions of just
individual questions to give the lawyers an opportunity to get
to know a little bit more about you. They have to do with
where you live and how long you've lived there, whether you
rent what education experience you've had, what kind of work
you have, either done or are doing currently, who else lives
in your household, where you get your news from, whether
you've had any military service, and whether you belong to any
organizations. It's essentially, what we ask of everyone.
Am I missing anything from the Government's
perspective?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: The defense?
MR. TALKIN: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: So we'll just start in numerical order.
Starting with Juror Number 1, where do you live and
how long do you live there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Sayville New York
which is in Suffolk County.
What else did you want to know?
THE COURT: How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, my whole life, really.
My parents bought the house when I was six months old. I
moved out for a few years, and when they passed away, I bought
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it. So I guess I bought it, I don't know, 18 years ago or
something like that.
THE COURT: What kind of education or training do
you have?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a teacher. So I have a
master's degree.
THE COURT: And what do you teach?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I teach social studies.
THE COURT: For what ages?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Twelfth grade. Right now
I'm teaching just 12th grade. I'm an economics teacher.
Usually, though, I teach 12th grade economics and 10th grade
global history. This year, just economics.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: This is my 22nd year.
THE COURT: And where do you teach?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: East Islip High School.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anybody in your job,
other than the kids?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, no.
THE COURT: And who else lives in your household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a husband -- my
husband and my daughter, Holly.
THE COURT: And how old is your daughter?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's 12.
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THE COURT: What does your husband do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He owns his own business.
He as a seafood distributor.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The internet. You know,
different websites.
THE COURT: Any ones in particular?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I wouldn't say any ones in
particular. But I do, you know, several different websites.
THE COURT: You like to look at a variety of
different news sources?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there any reason that you
could not be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Juror Number 2, where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Flushing, New York
I've lived there for 15 years.
THE COURT: I forgot to ask Juror Number 1, do you
belong to any associations, clubs?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, I do have my real
estate license. So I guess The Long Island Board of Realtors.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
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So where do you live and how long have you lived
there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Flushing, New York
for 15 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I own.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized education or
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a bachelor's degree.
THE COURT: In anything in particular?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In industrial design.
THE COURT: Are you currently working?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I'm a reinsurance
underwriter.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, I kind of boomeranged.
So I worked for the company for seven years prior to leaving
to a competitor, and I just went back. So eight months, but
also, six years and eight months.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job as I
underwriter?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I price commercial liability
insurance.
THE COURT: Have you been doing that throughout the
years you've been employed --
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I've been in the
industry for 20 years.
THE COURT: All right. Do you supervise anyone in
your current job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not officially. I'm a team
leader, but not in the sense of a true manager or a
supervisor.
THE COURT: What do you do as a team leader?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, team leaders are sort
of more of a referral desk role. So as an underwriter, we
have authority to quote business and in the capacity where we
share our thoughts and discuss our risk appetites.
THE COURT: Who else lives with you in your
household, if anyone?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am married. I live with
my husband and my 15 year old son.
THE COURT: Is and is your husband employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He is self-employed.
THE COURT: What does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's an IT consultant.
THE COURT: And is it a son or daughter?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a son.
THE COURT: And when you were a child, what were the
occupations of your family, of your parents?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Prior to immigrating to the
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State, my father was a civil engineer and my mother was a
nurse. Since coming to America, they worked in the garment
district.
THE COURT: And I should have asked Juror Number 1
that same question.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father was a police
officer, and then when he retired from that, he went into
construction, and my mother was a homemaker. She was not
employed.
THE COURT: Thank you. Where do you get your news
from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly Google News.
THE COURT: Do you ever read any newspapers or watch
any T.V. program?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: T.V. would be CNN.
Newspaper would be the Times.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or how do you
like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like to walk a lot and I
like to travel.
THE COURT: Okay. Same question for Juror Number 1.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was just thinking of that.
My leisure time is with a 12 year old, she's in travel sports,
so five nights a week, she's going somewhere with sports. So
that and then the summertime, it's the beach.
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THE COURT: Okay. Thanks. Juror Number 2, do you
belong to any clubs or organizations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do not.
THE COURT: Okay. Is there any reason that you
could not be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Thank you. Juror Number 3, where do you
live in how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Park Slopes. I
have been there for 15 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We rent.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, I have a bachelor's in
civil engineering from the Polytechnical Institute of Mexico,
and then a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the
University of California San Diego.
THE COURT: When did you get that degree?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: 2007.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Where do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work for Con Edison.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About nine years.
THE COURT: What do you do there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work in the -- we have so
many departments, but the one that I work in is distribution
engineering.
THE COURT: Who do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's kind of vague. We --
my title is just engineer. But I support the substations in
all the New York City region, including Westchester. Then
making sure all those stations, they're in, like, working
order and that's in general what I perform, what I do.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Just me and my wife.
THE COURT: Is she employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's a research analyst.
THE COURT: Self-employed or for a company?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, she works for -- I
believe the name of the company is SEU 1199.
THE COURT: Okay. And what does she do as a
research analyst?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She works for, like,
collecting -- they support many of their students. They're
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trying to get their credentials to be nurses or doctors, like
anything in the medical field, and they create programs to
help those student, like, get the credentials. And she
collects like a database, she does, like, a cell base and
stuff like that.
THE COURT: Do you have any children adults?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We have no childrens.
THE COURT: What were the occupations of your
parents?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father, he was a
mechanical engineer, and my mom, she was a housewife.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Different things, like,
sometimes from a T.V., like, CBS, CNN. Like, any of the news.
And also from the New York Times or sometimes even from, like,
a podcast.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any organizations or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Who do you like to do in your spare
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am a long-distance runner.
THE COURT: How long distance?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like marathons.
THE COURT: Wow. Okay. How many have you done?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Probably close to 20, 18,
19.
THE COURT: Did you ever win?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Never win. I just finish.
You happy to finish.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Juror Number 4, where do you live? How long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Queens,
Queens, New York. I've lived there my while life, so for 29
years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my mom, so
neither.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a bachelor's degree.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work in digital
advertising.
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THE COURT: How long have you been done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About eight years now.
THE COURT: And do you work at a company or on your
own?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work at a company.
THE COURT: What company do you work for?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a media agency called
Essence Media Co.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work with clients to help
make their digital marketing campaigns more successful, track
their business.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not officially. I'm a
project lead on certain projects where I delegate to other
people, but I don't officially manage them.
THE COURT: Is your mother employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's which home health
aide.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly the internet.
THE COURT: Any particular sources?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's really a variety. New
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York Times, Washington Post. It's really mixed. Also, social
media, as well.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any organizations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or specialized
ways you like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly just spending time
with my family and cooking. That's it.
THE COURT: Okay. Can you be fair and impartial in
this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Can I answer that one
privately, actually?
THE COURT: Yes. Come on up.
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So I don't know if I have a
yes-or-no answer to that question. I do want to disclose that
I have a lot of friends and close family who are small
business owners, and I don't know if that's going to impact at
all. But I just wanted to say that.
THE COURT: How do you think it might impact?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It just seemed like based on
some of the questions, there were a lot of small businesses
that were coming up and questions about, I don't know, how
people operate their small businesses.
THE COURT: So are you saying that you might have
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some knowledge that you acquired outside of the courtroom that
you might refer to in that time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Very little. My family will
have conversations about things like this while I'm around,
not necessarily anything that I know at the top of my mind.
But I heard PPC has come up or PPP has come up in the past.
Not that I know yes or no that they've applied or they have
knowledge about it, but it is a topic of conversation that's
around me.
THE COURT: What kinds of issues might this raise?
MR. TALKIN: I don't see any.
THE COURT: So basically, if you were on the jury,
you'd be sitting in those seats back there, and you'd be
hearing testimony, and you might be hearing testimony from
people who were witnesses for the Government, witnesses for
the defense, and they might be talking about similar things.
But they might disagree. And the question is, is there anyone
that you could think of, any type of witness, small business
owner, not small business owner, government official, whose
testimony you would automatically give greater weight to than
anyone else's, or would you be able to sit, listen to the
testimony in the courtroom, and decide what weight to give it,
based on the evidence that you hear?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think I would give
weight to one versus the other based off of any knowledge.
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THE COURT: So do you feel that you have a pretty
open mind?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: Juror Number 5. There you are.
Where do you live? How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Richmond, Queens.
I live there for almost 25 years.
THE COURT: Do you own other rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I rent.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My wife and my two kids.
THE COURT: How old are your kids?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My youngest one is 22 and
my -- the other one is 30.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really. No.
THE COURT: What's the last level of schooling that
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you finished?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I did 11th grade.
THE COURT: Okay. What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I just get early retirement.
I used to work at the school as the maintenance.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nine years.
THE COURT: And where is the school located?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In 85th Street in Manhattan.
In Lexington.
THE COURT: Okay. Does either of your children
work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do they do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: One is bartender and the
other one is business, internet business. Sell things and --
by the internet.
THE COURT: And does your wife work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does she do.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She do Uber and Lyft.
THE COURT: I'm sorry, I didn't hear that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Uber and Lyft.
THE COURT: Oh, Uber and Lyft, okay.
Well, that's quite a diverse household you have.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I do part time, also.
THE COURT: With the Uber and the Lyft?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: So you have, essentially, two jobs?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Or both, yes.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can't understand that
question you're saying. The news from where?
THE COURT: Well, do you read newspapers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: What happened? I can't
understand that question.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you listen to the news on the
radio, watch the news on television?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, the news, the news.
THE COURT: Get news from the internet?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Internet yes.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news, which
internet site do you like?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not -- really, I don't
understand the question. My English is not -- I understand
50/50. I understand probably -- I 10 years ago sit on a case,
but this one is too much for me. Probably I understand 50/50.
I don't know. I would like to serve because I like to serve
my country. You understand? But I don't know it is okay for
you and my English is not that good.
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THE COURT: Okay. We'll come back to you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Did you have difficulty understanding me
when I was explaining the case.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. Not really.
THE COURT: When you're at work, do you speak a lot
of English in your work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I speak with the
teachers and the students.
THE COURT: Why don't you just come up to sidebar.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure.
(The following occurred at sidebar.)
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello. You're welcome.
THE COURT: So why do you think you'll have trouble
understanding?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Some words, it's difficult
for me to understand. But most, I understand. I would like
to serve. Now, I'm really early retirement, I would like to
serve my country. But that's some difficult things probably
it is okay to excuse me.
THE COURT: So you think that you miss 50 percent of
what people say?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That's about it. That's
about it.
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THE COURT: Yeah. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: Nothing.
THE COURT: Yeah, I think this could be a
complicated case and could be technical and it might be
difficult for you to understand.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Okay.
THE COURT: Thank you for telling us.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: You're welcome.
THE COURT: Good luck to you.
(Prospective Juror enters sidebar.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Your Honor, do we want to wait
until we go through all of them before we excuse him so that
more people don't want to jump out.
THE COURT: Well, everybody knows his language, so I
don't think there will be --
MR. AMIR: I just think we're giving a roadmap --
THE COURT: I don't think so. We'll see.
I can wait though. I'm happy to wait until we go
through the whole list.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: Okay. Juror Number 6, where do you live
and how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Is this on? Yes. I live in
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Brooklyn. I've lived here since 2006.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a bachelor of science
in communications with a major in marketing, advertising,
public relations, and anything fun like that.
THE COURT: And do you own or rent your home?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We own.
THE COURT: I think you told us this before, but how
are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am the head of New York
America for a British letter goods company.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: With this company, for
almost two years.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have seven direct reports
and then there's approximately 25 people below them, yes.
THE COURT: Who else lives with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My husband and my daughter.
THE COURT: Is either of them employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My husband is employed, yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He works in finance using
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insurance products.
THE COURT: What kind of work did your parents do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father was in finance
working for GE and my mother was a homemaker.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A variety of sources.
Anything from New York Times to Washington Post to Apple News.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations or groups?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I volunteer through New York
Cares as regularly as my schedule allows.
THE COURT: What do you do for them?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I usually oscillate between
a group in Red Hook called Food First Pantry and/or on the
weekends, I volunteer with the Red Hook conservancy which is
another group, and if my time does permit, I also do
participate with the Fort Greene Park and do work with them on
the weekends.
THE COURT: Do you have any leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: If you did have leisure time, how would
you use it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Reading my book which I got
to do today. Thank you.
THE COURT: Is there any reason that you might not
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be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Juror Number 7.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. What's the first
question? I'm sorry.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in West Islip, but
I've lived there my whole life.
THE COURT: Do you rent or own?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We own.
THE COURT: How long have you lived in that
particular home?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: This one, three years.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My husband and I have
two children.
THE COURT: Is your husband employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's an account manager for
an IT company.
THE COURT: And how long has he done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, God, 15 years, 12 years
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somewhere around there.
THE COURT: And did either your parents work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work did he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad worked on engines and
airplanes for an aviation company, and my mom worked in
customer service and she now is an assistant for a school.
THE COURT: And are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a property insurance
adjustor.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About nine years.
THE COURT: Do you work for yourself or for a
company?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: For a company.
THE COURT: And do you have a title?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. We're considered --
well, my position is an outside property adjustor.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I would go to somebody's
house and I would evaluate the damages that they have, I would
create an estimate after I've seen if they have coverage, and
then I would settle with the insured based off of my estimate.
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THE COURT: Did you have any involvement with COVID
funds or anything similar --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really.
THE COURT: -- during the pandemic.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really. The only
difference was I had to stay home and work from home to
evaluate these people's damages, because we couldn't really go
to their house.
THE COURT: All right. I take it you weren't
involved with loans or with any PPP money or any of those
issues?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, no.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Anywhere, really. Mostly
the T.V. So like CNN, MSNBC.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My kids are in a lot of
sports, so I either have to transport them some place or I'll
be on my bike at home.
THE COURT: Is that what you do in your leisure
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Is there any reason that you would not
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be fair and impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Juror Number 8.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: So where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Whitestone,
Queens, and I've lived there basically my whole life, apart
from three years when I was younger.
THE COURT: Okay. And do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in my parents
apartment.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized training
or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm in undergrad right now.
THE COURT: Is your semester over?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Will you be going to school during the
summer?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you have a major?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. It's peace and justice
studies.
THE COURT: Where do you go to school.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Pace University.
THE COURT: What year are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm going into my last year,
fourth year.
THE COURT: And do you have any plans of what you'll
be doing after you graduate?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do your parents work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do they do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My mommy is a flight
attendant, and my dad does hospitality consulting.
THE COURT: How do you get your news?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mainly the internet.
Sometimes social media. Specifically, like, Al Jazeera, Fox,
yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you have any hobbies or things
that you like to do during your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mainly just, like, hanging
out with friends, sometimes activism. Yeah.
THE COURT: What kind of activism?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's pretty broad. Being a
peace and justice studies major, it kind of ranges. Like,
racial justice, climate justice.
THE COURT: So do you volunteer?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, it's kind of sporadic.
THE COURT: Oh, all right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial
in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you.
(Continued on the following page.)
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THE COURT: Juror No. 9.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm from Port Washington,
New York. I've lived there for my whole life.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my parents
there.
THE COURT: Are they working?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad works. My mom
doesn't.
THE COURT: What --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad owns a bunch of
McDonald's restaurants and my mom used to be a teacher but she
retired when I was born.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized training
or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm about to be a junior in
college.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you have a major?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Finance major.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am. I work as a waiter.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've done it -- I did it the
end of my senior year of high school, the whole year, and then
every summer since then.
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THE COURT: What kind of restaurant do you work in?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's an Irish pub.
THE COURT: Where to you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Generally, TV or social
media, usually Fox.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or special ways
you like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Just go out with my friends,
play football or basketball, something like that.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Great. Thank you.
Juror No. 10.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. How are you?
THE COURT: Good. How are you doing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good.
THE COURT: So where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Staten Island
New York, and I've lived there my whole life.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in my parents' house
and they own the house.
THE COURT: Does anybody else live in the household
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at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, my grandmother.
THE COURT: Is she employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Are you employed at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: What's the last level of schooling that
you finished?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: High school. I have some
college credits but high school is what I finished.
THE COURT: So are you employed now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Where do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a para professional in a
middle school.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Five years.
THE COURT: What do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work with children with
disabilities, special needs and things like that, and I help
them in school.
THE COURT: Do you have any special training in
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developmental disabilities?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: On-the-job training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, yes, we do on-the-job
training, no, like, certificates or anything like that really
though.
THE COURT: Right.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fox News, New York Post.
THE COURT: And do you have any hobbies or ways that
you like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I go to upstate
New York a lot. I do fishing, boating, hiking, things like
that.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, not that I can think of.
THE COURT: Where do you go when you go upstate?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: White Lake, New York. It's
in Sullivan County.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I believe so.
THE COURT: Thank you.
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Brooklyn, New York, born and
raised. The same house.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My elderly mother.
THE COURT: Is she employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Some college.
THE COURT: Did you have a major?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Business management.
THE COURT: And you're working at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Accounts receivable for a
clothing manufacturer, Steve Madden.
THE COURT: How long have you been there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Twenty-five years.
THE COURT: And how large an organization is that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a public traded
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company.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you supervise anyone in the
job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really, no.
THE COURT: What kind of work did your parents do
when they were working?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My father, he's deceased.
He used to own property, self-employed. And my mom is, was a
housewife.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or things you
like to do in your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right now, taking care of my
mom. She's 90 years old.
THE COURT: Ninety?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Wow. Good luck to her.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thanks.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I can.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Hi. Juror No. 12?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I live in Farmingdale,
New York.
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THE COURT: How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A little over a year.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Just my wife.
THE COURT: Is she employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's a social worker.
THE COURT: What kind of social worker?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She deals with elementary
school, any issues with the kids.
THE COURT: How long has she worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About two years now.
THE COURT: And are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a bookkeeper.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized training
or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a Bachelor's in
accounting.
THE COURT: And where do you work?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's for an HVAC company.
THE COURT: How long have you been there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: For about five years.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: When you were younger, what occupations
did your parents have, if any?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad was a retail manager
and he's been in sales. Right now, he is at Raymour &
Flanigan. And my mom is unemployed.
THE COURT: Do you have any spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like to play pickleball.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Google, New York Times.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: And do you belong to any associations or
clubs?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Are you good at pickleball, by the way?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: I saw an exhibition with John McEnroe,
the tennis star. He got creamed, he got killed. Apparently,
pickleball is a totally different sport.
Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Where do you live or how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've lived in Huntington
Station for about ten years.
THE COURT: And before that, you lived --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I lived throughout
Long Island in a variety of small towns.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I rent.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a Bachelor's in plant
breeding and genetics.
THE COURT: And you were in farming?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That's correct.
THE COURT: Were you actually a plant breeder?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. It was a seed farm,
yes.
THE COURT: Can you tell us what you did?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Farmers do not keep back a
portion of this year's crop to replant. It doesn't work that
way anymore. They come to a breeder like me who produces a
seed crop for them every year and they plant that to harvest
the grain which is a feed, not a seed.
THE COURT: And are you doing that still?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. The farm closed about
20 years ago.
THE COURT: So are you involved in that field at all
or just as a hobby?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not at all. Once I moved to
Long Island, farming was over. The farm was upstate.
THE COURT: Okay. And are you employed now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a Maintenance Mechanic 3
with Smithtown schools.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: About six years.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In the morning, I run a
small crew that does preventive maintenance district-wide. We
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take care of all of the air handling equipment in the
district.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In the morning when I'm
making the coffee, I have News 12 which is a local station in
the background. I drive to work very early because we have to
get there before the students come in and I listen to the BBC
on the drive. It's very interesting to me. And when I'm
making dinner when I get home, I usually have C-SPAN on or CNN
in the background.
THE COURT: Do you read any print?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Does anybody -- raise your hand. Does
anybody read newspapers anymore?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sometimes on the weekend.
THE COURT: On paper or online. Okay.
So what do you like to do in your spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like to camp in the
Catskills.
THE COURT: Do you have any -- well, do you have any
hobbies in addition to camping?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. I go for a daily walk
but that's about it.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Juror No. 14.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Jackson Heights, Queens,
30 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in the
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My mom and my sister.
THE COURT: Do either of them work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My sister is an attorney
interning in the U.N. My mom is retired but she manages real
estate.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a Doctorate degree in
educational administration.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: New York City Department of
Education. So our team supports the district with early
childhood best practices and through classrooms.
THE COURT: Do you go from school to school?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: So we have a caseload of 40
programs, yes, 40 schools.
THE COURT: Wow. Do you supervise anybody in your
job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I supervise three social
workers and two instructional coordinators.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Apple News, BBC, Greek news,
international. You get different perspectives.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or things you
like to do in your spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Gardening, volunteering,
walking, cooking, any projects.
THE COURT: Where do you like to volunteer?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I follow Volunteer Match on
New York Cares and whatever projects they have, local soup
kitchens, church projects.
THE COURT: Wow.
Can you be fair and impartial in this case?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you very much.
Juror Number 15. Good afternoon.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon.
THE COURT: Sir, where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Rosedale, Queens.
I've been there 17 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my wife and her
niece.
THE COURT: Does your wife work at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, she does. She works
with an import company, brokerage company.
THE COURT: Real estate?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, like, goods for
importation.
THE COURT: Oh.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like those companies.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
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THE COURT: What kind of -- what's the last level of
school that you finished?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I finished high school. I
did some college, college degree, some colleges here but I
didn't finish it.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I dropped out.
THE COURT: Are you working now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I am working now.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a forklift operator.
THE COURT: And where do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The MTA.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've been there since 2017,
January 2017.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I don't.
THE COURT: And you said that your wife's niece also
lives in the house?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, she does.
THE COURT: Is she employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. She's employed.
THE COURT: What does she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She works at the airport.
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She deals with the passengers with the wheelchair.
THE COURT: Oh, okay. Where do you get your news
from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly anything my wife
watches, I watch whatever.
THE COURT: What does she watch?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Mostly she watch CNBC,
sometimes she watch CNN, Fox News, ABC. It depends on what's
going on.
THE COURT: A variety?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A variety, yes.
THE COURT: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like to eat, listen to
music, traveling.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I don't.
THE COURT: Can you be fair or impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I can.
THE COURT: Okay. Juror number 16.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. How are you?
THE COURT: Good. Thanks. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good. I live in Bay Shore,
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New York. I've been there, I own, seven years.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work for Stop & Shop
Supermarket.
THE COURT: Great. What do you do there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a grocery manager.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Twenty-two years.
THE COURT: All in the same store or different
places?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: They transfer me around now
and then.
THE COURT: How many people would you say you
supervise?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The night crew and maybe one
or two people during the day.
THE COURT: Do you work mostly at night?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work during the day.
THE COURT: Oh, okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But I see them in the
morning when I come in.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
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household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My girlfriend.
THE COURT: Okay. And what -- does she work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's a receptionist at a
doctor's office.
THE COURT: Okay. Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fox News, CNN, some on the
internet.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or special ways
you like to spend your spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Music, that type of thing.
THE COURT: What kind of music?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I listen to a little bit of
everything.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT; okay. Thank you.
Good afternoon, ma'am.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello. Good afternoon.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Brooklyn,
25 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My husband and my daughter.
THE COURT: Do they work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My husband retired. And my
daughter works at MTA, bus operator.
THE COURT: And what did your husband do before he
retired?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In Jersey, he used to work
in Jersey for 49 years.
THE COURT: And what kind of work did he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Chemistry.
THE COURT: Are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I am.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: School bus attendant.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Five years.
THE COURT: And what school district do you work in?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I worked in Queens, Corona.
THE COURT: Okay. Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: ABC, NBC, that's it.
THE COURT: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sleep and travel.
THE COURT: Where do you like to travel to?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Different countries, the
islands.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies that you like?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Dancing.
THE COURT: What kind of dancing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Soba. That's from the
Caribbean.
THE COURT: Wow. Can you be fair and impartial in
this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you very much.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Hi. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm doing well.
THE COURT: So where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Queens, New York.
I've been living there for the entirety of my life since we
emigrated in '98 and I've been in my place for seven years.
THE COURT: Where did you emigrate from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: South Korea.
THE COURT: And do you live with anyone else in your
household?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I live with my family,
mother, father, and an older brother.
THE COURT: And do any of them work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My father works as a
chef and then my older brother is an HVAC engineer.
THE COURT: What kind of food does your father cook?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Korean food. Korean
barbecue.
THE COURT: I think the jury would be lucky to have
you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Honored to be here.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized education or
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I have a Bachelor's
degree in corporate communications.
THE COURT: Are you working now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a senior climate
solution associate working in Midtown, working primarily with
tech clients to help them with their research in qualitative
and quantitative ways.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anybody in your work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really, no.
THE COURT: You work in a team?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm working within a team,
yes.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Primarily, social media.
TikTok and Instagram. And then I guess on my morning commute,
I open my e-mail and I get the morning newsletters from The
New York Times and Morning Brew.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or special ways
you like to spend your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I also like dancing. I also
enjoy traveling and going to cafes and hanging out with my
friends.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I do not.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Good afternoon. You're Juror No. 19?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: So where do you live and how long have
you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I living in Brooklyn, New
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York for 18 years and I live with my wife and two boy.
THE COURT: And is your wife employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. She work with me.
THE COURT: Okay. You have your own business?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Tell us about it.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I own a small print shop and
I, pretty much I do everything by myself and manage the whole
company for eight year already.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized training
or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone? I assume or do
you do everything yourself?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, myself.
THE COURT: So no other employees?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sometimes I do hire some
temporary worker for some special job, I need rush and need it
by the fifth day.
THE COURT: Do you have any spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What do you like do in your spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Ride out by the water.
THE COURT: And -- go ahead.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sorry. And if not, in the
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summertime, I would ride outside and in the wintertime, I do
it at the home ride.
THE COURT: When you say ride, what do you ride?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The bike. I mean the
bicycle.
THE COURT: Oh, riding the bicycle. Okay.
Do you belong to any clubs or associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm sorry?
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: TV most of the time and some
of the internet radio.
THE COURT: Any particular television stations or
internet sites?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: ABC and Google Search
whatever come up, and YouTube, whatever.
THE COURT: Okay. Did you have any involvement with
PPP money when you were, during COVID?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. Did you discuss that fully with
us at sidebar?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. I'm going to ask you to just come
up for a second at sidebar.
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(The following occurred at sidebar; prospective
juror joins.)
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I mentioned that I'm
in a small business and the when the pandemic come up, I do
apply for the PPP and the first time that I applied it,
everything cool, I just get the money and they forgive for
everything for the first time. And the second time, I do
apply it, I knew I have some over, I think a couple hundred
dollars, but I still applied it and rejected the second apply.
THE COURT: Okay. How do you feel about that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's okay. At that point,
my business went up because of the pandemic, some of the
businesses really need help, I help them to print up some of
the stuff and I doing good at that time.
THE COURT: Now, there may be some discussion of PPP
money and loans and whatever. Would you be able to listen to
the evidence and --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Yes.
THE COURT: -- try to evaluate it fairly without
referring to your own personal experience?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Sure.
THE COURT: Okay. Any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No.
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THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(In open court; sidebar ends.)
THE COURT: So, once again, can you be fair and
impartial in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you.
Juror No. 20.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. I live in Brooklyn,
New York for 20 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in the
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my husband and
two children who are 8 and 11.
THE COURT: Is your husband employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's a collections manager
at a museum.
THE COURT: And do you have any specialized training
or education? I think we went into this before.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a Master's degree in
education, special education. I'm a middle school math
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teacher.
THE COURT: Right. And how long have you been doing
that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nineteen years, give or
take.
THE COURT: When you were a child, what was the
occupations of your parents, if any?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad is a therapist and
was self-employed and my mom was a professor of education at
NYU.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I listen to NPR while I make
dinner. I might read the New York Times.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies that you like to
pursue during your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: If I have time, I like to
sleep some extra time. Taking care of my kids, I am also in
my sports-mom phase of life.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a UFT union member.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
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Juror 21.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Staten Island, 37 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, my husband and my son.
THE COURT: Are either of them working?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: They are both working. My
husband is a facility manager for a hospital and my son is a
patient assistant at a behavioral health facility.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't. High school. I
finished high school. That was it.
THE COURT: Are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I audit graduation
applications in the registrar office for CUNY College of
Staten Island.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've been in that office for
eight years, but I've been with the college since 2006.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anybody in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do not.
THE COURT: What do you like to do in your spare
time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I love to travel, I like
dancing, I look cooking, baking and just napping when I can.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I believe so.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: Hi. Juror No. 22?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Currently, in West Babylon.
Been there about six years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I rent. My wife, who I'm
separated from, she lives in the house that I own.
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THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am.
THE COURT: What --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work for a fin-tech
company. I'm an IT and cyber security risk manager.
THE COURT: How long have you been there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Three years.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do. I just got two
trainees and then a summer intern will be coming in next
month.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you have any specialized
training and education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I went to school for
business management and computer science. I have an IT
software development background.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It varies. Broadcast would
be ABC, CBS, CNN. Online, it's MSN, CNN and News 12.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can, yes.
THE COURT: And do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No clubs or associations.
For fun, it's hockey, golf and boating.
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THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: Hi. You're Juror No. 23?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, it changed. I was.
I'm 41. But anyway, yes. West Babylon, New York.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, my wife and my three
kids.
THE COURT: How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thirteen, 14 years.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized education or
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, just high school.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I run a service department
for a Mack Truck dealership.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nineteen years.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anybody in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Not really supervise. I
just look over them, like make sure they get the right parts.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: To be honest with you, I
really don't listen to the news. If it's on, it's Channel 12.
That's about it really. I'm a big sports nut. I'd rather
watch sports.
THE COURT: Do you like sports in your spare time as
well?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What do you --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We like to go to Yankee
games.
THE COURT: And do you have any hobbies?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Big time bowler.
THE COURT: Are you good?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Pretty good. A couple of
300s.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I believe I could.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Can you see me?
THE COURT: I can't see you from the screen. What
number are you?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm 24.
THE COURT: Okay. Can you see me now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I can.
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Actually, I live right here
in DUMBO only for five years. I previously lived in
Westchester for many years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We rent here and we own a
house in Phoenix which I spend a few months in the winter.
THE COURT: Are you currently employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. I had my own business,
online business, but I kind of retired two years ago.
THE COURT: What's your business?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Design, wall murals.
THE COURT: Are you an artist?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Kind of, yes.
THE COURT: Artist and designer?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was a textile designer,
yes.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a Bachelor in liberal
arts and Associate's degree in textile design.
THE COURT: Is your husband working?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work does he do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: He's the chief investment
officer for United Church of Christ pension boards.
THE COURT: How long has he been there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Twelve years.
THE COURT: And does he have any specialized
training?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. He also has a Bachelor
in business.
THE COURT: Finance?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, my kids are grown.
THE COURT: What kind of work do they do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Two of them are actually in
PR and the other one works for an urban landscape design
company. And I have a two year old grandson.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Some online but CNN, MSNBC
usually.
THE COURT: And do you have any other hobbies or
things that you like to do in your leisure time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Walking, reading, traveling
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when I can.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I believe I can.
THE COURT: Thank you very much.
Juror Number 25.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Bushwick in
Brooklyn for 20 year.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Owner.
THE COURT: Do you live with anyone else in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I living with my wife.
THE COURT: Do you have any special training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I am doctor in medicine. I
was with therapy and technician an MA.
THE COURT: So what is your specialty?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I was MA. I don't have
a license in this country.
THE COURT: Are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I retired recently in May.
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THE COURT: What was your last job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My last job was MA in
Wyckoff Hospital.
THE COURT: I couldn't hear that.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Pardon me?
THE COURT: I'm sorry. I couldn't hear that last
thing you said.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My last job was MA, medical
assistant, Wyckoff Hospital.
THE COURT: Got it. Do you have any children?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have three kids with my
first wife.
THE COURT: Are they working now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: They're working. Yes. I
have my daughter is, she's a registered nurse. My sons, both,
they are both MA now.
THE COURT: And I forget, did you tell me if your
wife worked?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My wife?
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She's a home attendant.
THE COURT: Okay. Where do you get your news?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Oh, television, Telemundo
and CBS.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies or ways you like
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to spend your time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like music, music.
THE COURT: Do you make music or listen to music?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I listen to music. I like
it.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I do.
THE COURT: And do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you very much.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: You're welcome.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Staten Island, New York.
Been there 23 years which is my whole life.
THE COURT: And do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my parents and
they own the house.
THE COURT: Are your parents employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My father works for
the New York City Housing Authority as a bricklayer and my
mother manages a hair salon on Staten Island.
THE COURT: Are you employed?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I'm a high school
English teacher at Abraham Lincoln High School in
Coney Island.
THE COURT: How long have you done that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The end of this school year
is going to be my first full year.
THE COURT: Wow. Do you have any specialized
training or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. Bachelor's degree in
adolescent education specialized in English literature, grade
7 to 12, and I'm halfway through my Master's degree for
adolescent special education.
THE COURT: Do you have any hobbies that you like to
pursue?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, outside of work, I love
sports, hanging out with friends, traveling when I can on my
spring breaks, winter breaks, summer breaks. So, yes.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Thank you very much.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon, sir.
THE COURT: Good afternoon.
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Queens 26 years in
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Elmhurst.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's rent.
THE COURT: And do you live with anyone else in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, my husband, and I have
four daughters.
THE COURT: Okay. Are you employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I am.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm the assistant teacher in
VWA preschool.
THE COURT: How long have you been there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm there working ten years.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have Associate degree.
THE COURT: And do you -- tell me what an average
day is like for you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm sorry, sir?
THE COURT: What is your day like? When do you
work? What do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Actually, I'm assistant
teacher so I'm helping my lead teacher. Like, usually I work,
like, the assistant schedule and lead schedule together, I
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have to do the bulletin board, I have to do the observation
for the kids and do some paperwork, and, like, assistant
teaching job and lead teaching job, I do it together.
THE COURT: Thank you. Does anyone else in your
household work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My daughter, she's
doing her Master degree and she's a schoolteacher too. My
second daughter, she finished her Bachelor degree and she's a
school teacher too. My third daughter, she is doing, this is
her second year and her major is also education and the little
one is in seventh grade.
THE COURT: And does your husband work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My husband is an Uber
driver.
THE COURT: Okay. Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Actually, it's social media,
CBS channel and CNN most of the time and also I do the Google
search too.
THE COURT: Okay. In your spare time, what do you
do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Actually, I don't have
enough time, but still I try to find the time for myself a
little bit but that time, I love to cook.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: You're welcome.
THE COURT: Good afternoon again, ma'am. How are
you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon, sir.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Shirley, New York,
for 19 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I own.
THE COURT: Does anyone else live with you in the
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, my wife.
THE COURT: And tell me what each of you does for a
living.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, I'm retired right now.
THE COURT: So what did you do before you retired?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was an electrical
engineer.
THE COURT: And your better half?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A nurse.
THE COURT: What kind, any specialty?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. Right now, she's doing
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home health care.
THE COURT: Okay. Anything that had to do with
COVID -- how was life for all of you during COVID? I know
that's a broad question.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Well, for me, I had just
retired so I was like stuck at home. So pretty much, we were
stuck at home.
THE COURT: Right. And your wife?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We'd go around to places but
it was, you know, all kinds of PPE you had to wear and suit up
for everything, so we had to be real careful.
THE COURT: Okay. Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A variety, TV, ABC, NBC,
CBS, some internet until I get tired of it. Newspapers,
Newsday, New York Times, just anything I could get my hands
on.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, I do not.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, I can.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Sir?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello, Your Honor.
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THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Brooklyn my whole
life so 20 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my parents but
they rent.
THE COURT: Are they employed?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My dad owns a beauty supply
store and my mom is a housewife.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm currently an undergrad
majoring in political science.
THE COURT: What do you plan on doing when you get
out of college?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I hope to go to law school.
THE COURT: Okay. Any particular kind of law you'd
like to practice?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm not sure about that yet.
THE COURT: Okay. Is your school over for the
semester?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: And are you talking any summer classes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. I'm going back in
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August, fall semester.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Everywhere, usually through,
online, through Apple News, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC,
Fox, and New York Times, Fox, yes, everything.
THE COURT: Okay. And, again, what do you do in
your spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I practice, practice music,
so piano, guitar, vocals, and going on long walks with my
brother.
THE COURT: Do you play by yourself or with a group?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Always by myself.
THE COURT: Okay. Can you be fair and impartial in
this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think so.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Good afternoon, sir.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. Brooklyn, New York,
31 years, rent, single.
THE COURT: Anyone else -- so there's no one else
living in your household at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
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THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Computer science.
THE COURT: And are you working at this time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Systems engineering manager.
THE COURT: For what kind of --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Publishing company.
THE COURT: How long have you been there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Fourteen years.
THE COURT: And what do you do in your job?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Basically manage data
centers, design architecture of the systems and data centers.
THE COURT: Do you supervise anyone or do you do it
yourself?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I supervise. I have a team.
THE COURT: How big a team do you supervise?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Right now, it's 54 besides
me.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, BA in computer science.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yahoo, Apple News, YouTube.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: And in your spare time, what do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In-line skating during the
summer, skiing during winter.
THE COURT: Thank you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm living in Whitestone,
New York, in Queens.
THE COURT: How long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nine years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Own.
THE COURT: Do you live with anyone else in your
household?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: With my kids and my husband.
THE COURT: And did either of them work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. My husband is a bus
operator and my younger kids, like, just junior high, and
older kids in college, one more year until they graduate.
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THE COURT: Okay. And do you at this point have any
specialized training or education?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. Just -- I'm Associate
degree.
THE COURT: Are you employed now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, in United Healthcare.
THE COURT: How long have you worked there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: This company, almost three
years.
THE COURT: What do you do for them?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Doing the seniors. I take
care of the senior members. If they want to change plan and
they have some plan information, ask the question about the
plan, I can explain it to them and change the plan if they
want to.
THE COURT: Do you work in person or remotely
primarily?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, in the office, in the
company office.
THE COURT: Okay. What do you like to do in your
spare time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nothing. Like, the kids,
sometimes my kids have basketball and some activity, I bring
them there.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you belong to any clubs or
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associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: No or yes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: You cannot be impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, I think I cannot be
the judge.
THE COURT: Okay. Well, I'll talk to you in a few
minutes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Okay. Ma'am? Good afternoon.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon. I live in
New Hyde Park, New York. I've lived there most of my life,
since I was 11. I own the home. My parents are deceased. I
refinanced. I work for a law firm in the City. My career
spans over 40 years, three law firms, 17 years apiece just
about. All areas, litigation, health care, real estate. I do
some bookkeeping for them. In my spare time, I love to cook.
I love to go to the theater.
Did I miss something? I think I missed something.
THE COURT: Clubs or associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No associations. My news is
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through either CNN, News 12, LiveNation, some internet but not
much. I'm not that into watching the news. I'd rather read.
And I'm sure I can be impartial.
THE COURT: Okay. The law question, you've had some
exposure to the law over a period of time.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Would you be able to take your direction
from the judge as to what the law is?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, absolutely.
THE COURT: All right.
THE CLERK: Juror No. 45, you're excused. Thank
you.
Replacing Prospective Juror No. 45 is Juror No. 55.
THE COURT: Sir, when you go downstairs --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: -- just tell them you were excused
because of your language ability.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Thank you.
(Prospective juror excused.)
THE COURT: Good afternoon, sir.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good afternoon.
THE COURT: Do you have any "yes" answers to any of
my questions?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do.
THE COURT: Do you want to come up here?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Sure.
THE COURT: If anyone needs to use the restroom, you
can take a five minute break to do that now.
(The following occurred at sidebar; prospective
juror present.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Several questions. The work
one as far as scheduling and supervising teams. The PPP
loans, my wife's company has received them. I work in a bank
so I spent 20 years working in large banks in Manhattan. And
I have friends in the police and I have friends in, that are
attorneys.
THE COURT: Okay. So let's start from the
beginning.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: The work thing, a project
just launched today. I'm supervising 20 people around the
world. It's going to last nine months.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's IT work and I work at
Ernst & Young. We have 420,000 employees and we're serving
thousands of clients, some of them financial clients.
THE COURT: And what's your role?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My role is leading a team
that's going to change about 150 offices worth of networking
which is what I do. I'm in electrical engineering. I've been
doing this for, you know, 30-plus years. This project just
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launched this morning so I postponed my start thinking I might
be get away.
THE COURT: You might be safe for a few days.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I understand.
THE COURT: More likely than not, you'll be on the
jury for maybe a week and a half, two weeks.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: About, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Do you have someone who can sort of
stand in for you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'll find out tomorrow. So,
I guess, maybe. There's people on the team that could carry
it for some time so I think so.
THE COURT: Okay. If you're sitting in the jury
room knowing that this project is going on, will you be
able -- you look like a focused person. Would you be able to
focus on what's going on in the courtroom?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think I might be
distracted. I can try but I can't swear that I will. This
is -- it's a career-changing project and we're expecting
layoffs in September so I really have to perform.
THE COURT: Okay. What else?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My parents are 97 and 98. I
travel to Spain to see them every couple of months. They're
trying to sell a house and they're under a lot of strain right
now. My niece is suicidal so that's just a mess right now. I
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was expecting to go to Spain shortly as soon as I can get this
project going because I can go to Spain and do this project
globally. It's just a very stressful time for them and I was
expecting to go soon because of this house sale that they just
started. A little crazy.
THE COURT: It sounds stressful.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It is.
THE COURT: We have a dilemma here in the court --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I understand.
THE COURT: -- which is, you know, everyone has an
obligation to serve on a jury. We don't really know what's
going to be happening in our lives when we're called to serve.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I understand that. I
postponed it once in March. This is why I'm here, because I
felt I had to do it, and the project and the whole home thing
with my parents is just inevitable right now. It is
distracting me even from today. And I would be happy to serve
at some other point where it's more stable in my life.
THE COURT: Anybody have any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No, no questions.
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. BUFORD: Your Honor, just if you could follow up
on the PP loan that his wife's company received.
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She works at a chemicals
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company in Bay Shore, Long Island. Forty persons, I don't
know the nature of the loan and the quantity, but I do know
they took it.
THE COURT: Do you have any preconceived notions --
this is a softball I'm throwing you. Do you have any
preconceived notions about this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I've heard a lot about PPP
fraud, I've heard about that, and in some cases, I think
it's -- I haven't heard details about all of them but I think
it's a terribly unfair thing to do, to take advantage of a
pandemic to, I guess, milk the government or take an unfair
advantage of funding that comes from public sources and
direct, you know, from private pockets.
THE COURT: So the question in this case really is
did the defendant do what's alleged or not. If the defendant
didn't, then --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Correct. I guess it would
be up to the government's case.
THE COURT: Right, and the government would have to
prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: So are you asking to be excused?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I would value it very much
and I would love to serve again.
THE COURT: If you had to serve, how much of a
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hardship would it be for you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Like, this week, these next
couple of weeks?
THE COURT: Yes, not this week but starting Monday.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I might be able to get it
sorted out, at least the work project, and figure out what my
parents are doing and maybe delay the trip for July or August.
THE COURT: Would that be unfair of us to ask you to
do that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, it would not. I think I
can do that. Thinking that I have a week to set this up, I
think I can do that.
THE COURT: I'm going to trust you on this one.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Okay. Anybody have any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions, Your Honor.
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Well, good luck.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you, Your Honor. Do I
sit back down?
THE COURT: Yes, sit back down because we're not
going to excuse you at this time.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That's fine. That's fine.
Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
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MR. TALKIN: He's sort of a mixed bag.
THE COURT: I think he's an organized, very well --
MR. TALKIN: The concerning thing that he said is he
would be distracted, obviously, and rightfully so but that's
what concerns me. No matter how organized he is and how
together he is, he said he would be distracted.
THE COURT: But, you know, I think if we took some
of the things that the other potential jurors told us about
how busy their lives are, how they had to take their kids to
sports, all these things, how they have elderly parents,
everybody's got distractions in their lives.
MR. TALKIN: I understand. I just think this one is
on the high end of the scale talking about a career job that's
just starting, a career project at a job that's just starting,
in combination with his parents and the other relatives, the
niece, I just think it's a little more -- I think it's a
higher level than somebody else.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: He also said, Your Honor, he
also said that he, with this week, he can get his affairs in
order. So I think his kind of comments at the beginning were
changed once he kind of thought about the fact that he has a
week to get his affairs in order so it didn't seem the
distraction was as pertinent as it was when he first started.
It seemed he might have assumed we were starting trial right
away, but once he noticed he had the week to get his affairs
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in order, he seemed to say he can be impartial.
THE COURT: It's only a week and a half to two
weeks. I don't see it as a challenge for cause.
MR. TALKIN: Okay. Just so the record is clear, I
didn't say it but I do challenge for cause. I forgot to say
that at the beginning although my remarks indicated it. I
just wanted it to be clear.
THE COURT: There was cause to believe there was a
cause for challenge.
MR. TALKIN: Thank you, Judge.
(Continued on next page.)
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(Continuing.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Juror up.
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi.
THE COURT: How are you doing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good.
THE COURT: You were so adamant before not being
able to be fair. Tell me about did.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think my English
will be more understand the whole case when starting the case.
So, sometimes, maybe my personal judgment will be not fair to
say, so I don't want to be -- I think I can't do it.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Insurance, health insurance.
THE COURT: What do you do in the health insurance
industry?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm doing with the seniors
and for the plan insurance information, I explain to them if
you want the change of plan, any plan you want to change, show
to you and then we can change for them.
THE COURT: This is for United Health?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: How long have you been doing this?
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Do you work?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Almost three years in this
company.
THE COURT: What kinds of companies do you see with
insurance?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Seniors. Everyone is over
65 or maybe the disabled people.
THE COURT: And are all kinds of people different
nationalities?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Chinese. We take care of
the Chinese members mostly.
THE COURT: Primarily chinese?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Some English but 90 -- 95
Chinese, but because most of this community is Chinese.
THE COURT: So where would you say you're weak in
terms of language?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: In term -- usually I speak
Chinese, Cantonese and Mandarin mostly. English is my second
language.
THE COURT: All right. And what do you think you
don't do well in English?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Because sometimes people
like -- talking too fast, maybe can I not fluidly,
100 percent, understood what they talking about. That's why.
THE COURT: You sound very articulate. You sound
like somebody who can speak very well and you sound like
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Do you work?
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someone who can speak in a very complex job where it's not so
easy to explain in any language.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Still, sometimes in the
court, sometimes people talking, maybe sometime lawyers
talking, very professional terms, I can't understand them. I
worry I cannot handle that.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Have you ever been called for jury duty
before?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was in the grand jury
before for two weeks -- once I got the citizenship, they
assigned me to a grand jury. They don't ask me any, like,
how's your language, how's your level, they just put me on
there, sit there for two weeks.
THE COURT: Do you think you made any mistakes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I was sitting there and just
the person put yes and no but I barely, like, maybe I cannot
100 percent, maybe 80 percent understand so make the judgment
but because, like, the whole team, so not only me can make
decision, you know.
THE COURT: Right. How long ago was this?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: That's, like, a long time.
That would be, like, how many years -- maybe more than ten
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years.
THE COURT: So you served on a grand jury ten years
ago?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, over ten years ago.
THE COURT: And your English is better now than it
was then?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think about the same.
THE COURT: Okay. We'll let you know.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you. No questions?
THE COURT: No.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: You can sit down.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. TALKIN: Judge, it's the same motion. I think
it's the third time I made the motion with this type of a
person who seems like they're okay with English but they don't
have confidence in their understanding of complex terms, and
more importantly with her, it sounds like she didn't
understand everything that was in the grand jury and she's
like I went along, I was with a team, so she went along with
what happened in there and that's very concerning to have a
juror who does that. And so for that, I don't think she's fit
to be a juror in this or any other case.
MR. AMIR: The Government would oppose. I think she
used sophisticated language. I think jurors are getting
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intimidated by words that are technical or legalistic. She
assigns, she explains health insurance policies. This is the
most diverse district in the country and I don't think you
need perfect English to serve your duty as a juror. I think
she's perfectly capable.
THE COURT: I think the question really is if
someone says to us that they don't understand English well and
we don't have a way to test their English, are we risking
adverse -- will we take the risk that someone will sit on the
jury and not truly understand. And I think that's a risk I
don't think we should take, I don't think any defendant should
have to be in a situation like that.
MR. AMIR: Understood. I think she said she
understands 80 percent and the challenges she described are
from ten years ago.
THE COURT: I totally agree with you.
MR. AMIR: Yeah.
THE COURT: It's just not a risk I'm prepared to
take.
MR. AMIR: I understand.
THE COURT: So the challenge is granted.
Why don't you stay here while -- we only have one
more person to do, so. We have to replace her.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 31, you're excused.
Replacing Prospective Juror Number 31, Juror Number 56,
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Matthew Amante. Please take seat number 31.
THE COURT: All right. Why don't you come up here?
It takes a little while but we learned from experience.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi. How are you doing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hi. How are you.
THE COURT: If you could stand here, it's easier for
the court reporter to hear you. I have a question. Do you
have a yes answer to any of my questions?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I have a few.
THE COURT: Let's start with travel. Do you have
any travel issues?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. I don't have any travel
issues currently. I do have a lot of family members who are
in law enforcement. My mom's a paralegal and I've worked a
few summers in a law office.
THE COURT: Where?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a law firm. It's an
office. She worked in Garden City.
THE COURT: What did you do there?
THE CLERK: Calendar stuff and papers. She still
works there. I have a cousin who is a lawyer or in law school
right now.
THE COURT: The reason we ask the law question
people get a little experience and they think they know more
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than the judge does.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Gotcha.
THE COURT: My real question is whether or not you
would be able to put aside --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, I didn't hear much in
the law field.
THE COURT: Is there any reason why you would not be
fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I think I have more bias --
I already -- if the Government is doing this, I think their
skill's already involved personally.
THE COURT: These lawyers look pretty skilled.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: What?
THE COURT: The defense lawyers look pretty skilled
too.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I know. Just mentally, if
the Government is accusing of, like, a fraud, I kind of
impartially -- believe to myself, all right, it's guilt and I
don't think I can part ways with that.
THE COURT: So you think you'll be --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'll be bias, yeah.
THE COURT: Bias?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay.
Any questions?
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: None.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No objections.
MR. TALKIN: I move to excuse.
THE COURT: Granted.
We've got three or four left.
THE CLERK: Juror Number 56, you're excused.
Replacing Prospective Juror 57, Juror Number 57, Brien Darcy.
Can you please take the seat.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: How are you doing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm doing good.
THE COURT: Do you have any yes answers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nope.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Let's go through the general questions.
Where do you live and how long have you lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Staten Island, 20 years, my
whole life.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live with my grandparents.
THE COURT: Okay. What are you doing now for a
living?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Professional scuba diver, so
I do a bunch of different things.
THE COURT: Where do you do the scuba diving?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: New York mostly.
THE COURT: Do you freelance or do you work with the
harbor?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I freelance boat cleaning
and stuff like underwater boat cleaning but I do -- I work
with the brilliant oyster project and a scuba shop in
Manhattan.
THE COURT: Which scuba shop?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Pan Aqua.
THE COURT: That's where I did my scuba. I trained
there years ago. Wow.
So did you get a license for what you do or do you
have to --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm a dive master.
THE COURT: A dive master?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Wow. Does anybody else in your family
work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: My grandpa is a retired
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coast guard, my grandma, she -- I don't know what she did, it
was way before me, but my mom lives -- my mom and dad live in
South Carolina. My mom's a gynecology medical assistant and
my dad is in the post office.
THE COURT: Okay. Where do you get your news from?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Online, mostly, like, social
media and, like, Twitter.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: But, also, just kind of what
my grandparents are arguing about.
THE COURT: They don't agree?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No, they do, but they argue
at the T.V.
THE COURT: Do you belong to any clubs or
associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Aside from the Bureau of
Prisons and paddy, not really.
THE COURT: Cool.
Anybody have any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: All right. Nice to meet you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Nice to meet you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Okay. So I think we have --
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MR. TALKIN: We just have to question number five,
like you just questioned him, with the personal stuff. I
think that's the last piece.
MS. GREENSPAN: Yeah, seat five, Juror Number 55.
THE COURT: Oh, the six questions. We can do it up
here in case he has second thoughts, he'll let us know.
MR. TALKIN: Okay.
THE CLERK: Seat five, please come up again.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hi.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: We just wanted to ask you the personal
questions here. So where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Huntington, New York, I've
been there 23, 24 years.
THE COURT: Do you own it?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I own it. I live with my
wife and two dogs.
THE COURT: Does your wife work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah. She works at a
chemical company in Bay Shore.
THE COURT: What does she do there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Poly R&D is the name of the
company. She's a benefits administrator and executive admin
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for the CFO. Three grown children, all girls, they're moved
out of the house.
THE COURT: What kind of work do they do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: One is a fashion design
major doing mortgage underwriter work, the other one's an
acting major doing staffing, work and the other one is a music
major doing music production at Peloton bike company.
THE COURT: Oh, yeah. So what do you like to do in
your spare time? Do you have any --
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, I do. I race my
sailboat with my friends and crew.
THE COURT: So how do you manage to remain calm and
focused when you have a lot of different competing things on
your plate?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's hard. It's been a
really crazy couple of years. My niece's psychological state,
my parents' advanced age, my parents' dementia, add a six
hours flight, 12 hours door to door, kind of thing, it's been
hard the last couple years, really tough. I expect their
craziness trying to sell a house after living 40 years in it,
might just take one of them. I just don't know how they got
into that crazy transaction but that adds to the whole work
and timing stress.
THE COURT: Right. But are you able, in a job like
if you went to work tomorrow, would you be able to put out of
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your mind what's going on with your family?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I do my damnest, right.
I'll have four days to set up, deputy project managers to run
this thing and cross my fingers. I hope that logs as well and
I'll start booking travel for July August time frame, assuming
this doesn't take that long.
THE COURT: It won't take nearly that long. You'll
be done much before that. Okay. And you're feeling
comfortable with doing this, as comfortable as one can be?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm calling inaudible right
now. Just playing it on the fly. I think so.
THE COURT: I'm going to leave this decision in your
hands. Is that unfair?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. No. I would like to be
excused.
THE COURT: Okay.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Defer it. I mean, I'll come
back in a couple months.
THE COURT: It's just too much for you to handle at
one time?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: It's a lot. I don't want to
be distracted or impatient or wondering what's gonna happen
tonight when I open my emails, that kind of thing. I mean,
tonight, it's one day of delay, but if we get a few weeks into
this, you said week and half, two weeks, I just feel like I'm
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on eggshells on -- at work, expected lay off since September.
So I got to perform my next project.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. I'm going to excuse
you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you. I will be on
telephone duty, is that --
THE COURT: Just tell them that you're postponed for
six months.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Thank you,
Your Honor.
THE COURT: Sure. Good luck.
(Prospective juror excused.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Do I sit?
THE COURT: No. You can go down.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Thank you.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE CLERK: Replacing Prospective Juror Number 55,
Juror Number 58, would you please take seat number 5, but if
you could just come up to the sidebar.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
THE COURT: Hi. How are you?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I'm okay. And you?
THE COURT: Pretty good. Do you have any yes
answers to any of my questions?
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THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't understand the --
you talking about but I try. My English no -- it's no longer
too much for -- it's --
THE COURT: Did you have trouble understanding me?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I unapprehended you.
THE COURT: You understood me?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. So I think that's a good sign.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay.
THE COURT: Do you feel comfortable that you could
sit in a jury and listen and if you didn't understand
something, raise your hand?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I did.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you have any other yes
answers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Can you repeat again please?
THE COURT: Yeah. In other words, to my questions,
do you have any answers?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: Do you remember what they were?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: When you talking about
the -- the case, the company, the -- the company, the -- they
represent the many, many people made tricky to the city --
THE COURT: Don't have a lot of evidence in now.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah, you talking about a
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lot of thing.
THE COURT: A lot of?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: You talking about a lot of
thing. You talking about the company and the company, you
talking about the Popular Bank, you talking about the -- I
don't remember --
THE COURT: I think -- did you have a little trouble
understanding?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: A little.
THE COURT: A little? Okay. I think perhaps --
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Any questions?
MR. TALKIN: No questions. Thank you.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. I think we are going
to excuse you.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Thank you.
THE COURT: So you can go downstairs to the second
floor.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Okay. Thank you.
(Prospective juror excused.)
THE CLERK: Replacing Prospective Juror Number 58,
Juror Number 59, could you please take seat 5.
(Prospective juror joins.)
THE COURT: Hello.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Hello.
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THE COURT: How are you doing?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Good. How are you?
THE COURT: Do you have any question answers to my
questions?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Except that I work for a
bank but I think that --
THE COURT: That's okay. You can work for a bank.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: The question is, is the fact that you
work for a bank, will that prejudice you or bias you towards
one side or another in this case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Or can you listen to the evidence?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I don't think so. It
shouldn't -- it shouldn't affect.
THE COURT: Can you be fair and impartial in this
case?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Where do you live and how long have you
lived there?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I live in Brooklyn. I've
been living in Brooklyn for about 20, 25 years.
THE COURT: Do you own or rent?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: We own a house. My wife and
I and my son live in the house.
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THE COURT: Are you working now?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: What kind of work do you do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I work as a software
engineer slash engineering manager for investment banks and I
supervise about six software engineers.
THE COURT: How long have you done this?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I worked for the firm for
about 24 years now.
THE COURT: Do you have any specialized training or
degrees?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Yes. I have a bachelor's
and master's in computer science.
THE COURT: Okay. Where did you get that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Cornell University.
THE COURT: Okay. Do you like to do anything
different in your spare time? Any -- is there any activities
you like? Any hobbies, any clubs or associations?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I like taking -- hiking with
my wife. We try to travel as much as we can when we have
time.
THE COURT: Does your wife work?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: No. She retired in 2019.
THE COURT: What did she do?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: She was a retail analyst for
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a discount store called Ross, Ross Stores.
THE COURT: Okay.
Does anybody have any questions?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: No questions.
THE COURT: Questions?
MR. TALKIN: No.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Just have a seat.
(Prospective juror leaves.)
THE COURT: Okay. We're good. How much time do you
need to confer over your strikes?
MR. TALKIN: Ten minutes.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Ten minutes.
THE COURT: Okay.
(Off the record discussion.)
THE COURT: The lawyers are going to be conferring
amongst themselves. They're going to be taking a ten-minute
break.
MR. AMIR: Your Honor, is there a final decision
from the Court about the number of alternates?
(Off the record discussion.)
THE COURT: So the lawyers are going to be
consulting, and you're free, if you wish, to use the restroom,
get up and stretch for about ten minutes.
(Brief recess.)
(Continued on the following page.)
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(Continuing.)
(The following occurred at sidebar in the Jury
Room.)
THE COURT: Okay. Round one, we have two for the
defense.
MR. AMIR: Just to be clear, does the defense waive
defendant's appearance?
MR. TALKIN: We do. And for the record, thank you,
Your Honor. We have had time to consult with her about which
jurors -- about our jury selection, as well.
THE COURT: Thank you.
MR. TALKIN: Our first two are numbers nine and 10.
THE COURT: Government one, in round one.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Ready, Your Honor. Eight is
the first one for the Government.
THE COURT: And then we'll be going to round two.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Twenty-four.
THE COURT: Twenty-four.
MR. BUFORD: I'm sorry, just to be clear, Juror
Number 24, right, not necessarily seat 24?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes, number 24.
MR. TALKIN: Oh, I'm doing it by seat. I think we
have to do it by seat.
THE COURT: We have to do it by seat.
MR. GREENSPAN: In your case, it's both. Juror 24
AVERY N. ARMSTRONG, RPR, NYRCR
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
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is in seat 24.
THE COURT: One at a time.
Go ahead.
MR. TALKIN: Let us just double check here. I think
it works out here because the ones we picked earlier were the
actual numbers and seats, but let's, both sides, double check
that.
MR. AMIR: Are we referring to Susan Klassen, 24?
MR. TALKIN: Yes. And number eight is Ariana Somen.
MR. AMIR: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: Number nine is Carter Sullivan, and
number 10 is Jonathan Klein.
It's up to us for two now; is that right, Your
Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: Number six. That's Laura Kaplan. And
number one, that's Michele Cunningham.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Ready for us, Your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes. Ready.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Number 20.
MR. AMIR: Meryl Glickman is the name of the juror.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Are you ready for the next
one, Your Honor?
THE COURT: Yes.
AVERY N. ARMSTRONG, RPR, NYRCR
OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Twenty-five.
MR. AMIR: Mr. Cuevas.
MR. TALKIN: So two from us, correct?
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: Number two. I'm sorry, that's Lisa
Henderson, and number 14, Ms. Tzannetis, T-Z-A-N-N-E-T-I-S.
Just for my records, are we at six and three? Is
that where we are, as far as used?
MS. BILINKAS: Yes.
THE COURT: Yes.
MS. BILINKAS: Yes.
THE COURT: I think you've done four.
MS. BILINKAS: We've done four.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We're up, Your Honor?
THE COURT: You're up.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Number 17.
MR. TALKIN: It's two from us now.
Are we at the one yet? What round are we in?
THE COURT: I think you have the one --
MS. BILINKAS: You've done six.
MR. TALKIN: So it'll be one more round of two,
correct?
THE COURT: You have one more round of two.
MR. TALKIN: Number 19.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Oh, that's us?
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MS. BILINKAS: No, he's got one more.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: I thought because you were
looking at me.
THE COURT: No I was looking over here because
everybody's looking very serious.
MR. TALKIN: Number 22.
MR. GREENSPAN: John Railton.
THE CLERK: That's Juror 51.
MR. TALKIN: How many do we have left?
THE COURT: They have one left, you have two left.
MR. TALKIN: Twenty-eight.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Seat 26 which is number 52.
MR. TALKIN: Sorry, Your Honor, I just want to do a
little math.
THE COURT: I think it's your last one.
MR. TALKIN: Yes, it is.
Number 21.
THE COURT: And who is number 21?
MR. GREENSPAN: That's Ms. De Meo.
MR. TALKIN: Theresa De Meo.
Your Honor, I want to change my pick on that one.
THE COURT: Okay.
MR. TALKIN: Instead of keeping Ms. De Meo --
instead of number 21, I'm going to take number 12, Mr. Puma.
It's Charles Puma, P-U-M-A.
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THE COURT: Okay.
MR. TALKIN: Sorry about that.
So Your Honor do you want to go through who the jury
is --
THE COURT: Are you all set?
MR. TALKIN: We're set on 12.
THE COURT: We have the alternates though.
MR. TALKIN: Just to confirm, where we're starting
with the alternates.
THE COURT: Yes.
MR. TALKIN: So I have Juror Number 1 as seat three,
Felipe Valverde Arellano, and then seat four is Juror Number
2, Shoba Persaud, seat five is Juror Number 3, and his name
is -- he was the surfer.
THE COURT: Scuba diver?
MR. GREENSPAN: Correct.
THE COURT: Not surfer. It gets below the water,
not above the water.
MR. GREENSPAN: Fifty-seven.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: I think 59 is the one that
wanted to be the next one. Fifty-nine is the next one.
So seat 33, seat four -- Juror 33.
Juror Number 4, and then juror 59.
So the seats are -- the juror that was number 33 is
the first seat, juror who had number four is the second seat,
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the juror who had number 59 is the third seat.
MR. TALKIN: And then the fourth juror is in seat
seven. And she started --
MR. GREENSPAN: She started as 54.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: As 54.
MR. GREENSPAN: Should we just stick to juror
number?
MR. TALKIN: Yes. I don't have that.
MR. GREENSPAN: I do.
MR. TALKIN: So go ahead.
MR. GREENSPAN: So Juror Number 54, Celia Granda
would be --
THE COURT: I'm just going to step out for a second
and tell the 5:00 o'clock that they're out of luck.
(Judge ROBERT M. LEVY exits the sidebar.)
MR. GREENSPAN: Juror Number 5 will be Milagros
Diaz.
MR. AMIR: Eleven.
MR. GREENSPAN: She was number 11.
Juror Number 6 Paul Scheeren.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Number 47?
MR. GREENSPAN: Forty-seven.
Juror Number 7, James Sharp. He was wearing number
35. Juror Number 8, Jason Hirsch. He was wearing number 40.
Juror Number 5 -- or Juror Number 9 will be Joon Suk, wearing
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number 18. Juror Number 10, Anthony Caridi. He was wearing
number 41. Oh, no, no sorry. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Number 10
will be Theresa De Meo because we gave her back. Number 21
and 11, Juror Number 11, will be Anthony Caridi. He was
wearing number 41. And Juror Number 12 will be Yasmin Islam.
She was wearing number 53.
MS. BILINKAS: Yup. That's what we have.
MR. TALKIN: I agree.
(Pause in the proceedings.)
(Judge ROBERT M. LEVY enters the courtroom.)
THE COURT: Everybody in agreement?
MR. TALKIN: Yes.
MS. BILINKAS: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. For the alternates round, one for
the defense.
MR. TALKIN: It's seat 29, and I believe he is
number 29.
MR. AMIR: Jang.
MR. TALKIN: Correct, Mr. Jang.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We're going to go for 30 which
I believe is seat 30.
MR. AMIR: Boris.
THE COURT: Does everybody agree on the names and
numbers?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Yes.
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THE COURT: Do we need to read them into the record
again or are they good?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: We read the first 12 into the
record. We read the first 12 into the record. And right now
it's the last two, which is seat number -- I don't know the
seat, but Juror Number 57 which has been -- and then after
that, it's seat number 32.
THE COURT: Allison, everything matches?
THE CLERK: Yes.
THE COURT: All right. So is the jury satisfactory
to the Government?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: It is, Your Honor.
THE COURT: To the defense?
MR. TALKIN: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. So the plan is that we'll go back
into the courtroom, Allison will read the names and numbers
off, we'll excuse the jurors who haven't been selected, I'll
give a final warning and advice to the pool, they will then be
told to be here at 9:30 on Monday --
THE CLERK: Yes, to central jury.
THE COURT: -- to central jury, and we'll get their
names and phone numbers.
Is there anything else that needs to be done?
MR. TALKIN: Are you going to seat them all in the
box once they get their numbers --
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THE COURT: Yes. Anything else?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Nothing further from the
Government thank you, Your Honor.
(End of sidebar conference.)
(In open court; Prospective Jurors present.)
THE COURT: All right. Thank you, again, for your
patience. Ill read of the names of those who have been
selected as jurors and as alternates and excuse those who
haven't been selected and it'll take us just a couple of
minutes to get things organized for the trial on Monday.
All right. Before we start -- before Allison, you
read --
(Pause in the proceedings.)
THE CLERK: Okay. Juror Number 1, you're excused.
Replacing Prospective Juror Number 1 with Juror Number 33.
THE COURT: And, again, thank you all for your
patience and your service.
THE CLERK: So Prospective Juror Number 33, please
take seat one.
Prospective Juror Number 2, you're excused.
Prospective Juror Number 4, please slide down and
take seat number two.
Prospective Juror Number 59, you will be taking seat
three.
Prospective Juror Number 54, you will be taking seat
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number four.
Prospective Juror Number 11, if you could come down
to seat number five.
Juror Number 6, you're excused.
Juror Number 47, please take seat six.
Prospective Juror Number 35, you will be filling
seat number seven.
Prospective Juror Number 8, you are excused.
Juror Number 40, please fill seat number eight.
Prospective Juror Number 9, you're excused.
Juror Number 18, please fill seat nine.
Prospective Juror Number 10, you're excused.
Juror Number 21, please fill seat 10.
Juror Number 41, you will be taking seat 11.
And Prospective Juror Number 12, you are excused.
Juror Number 53, please fill seat 12.
And Juror Number 57, could you please fill seat 13
in the top left corner.
Prospective Juror Number 14, you're excused.
Juror Number 32, please take seat 14.
THE COURT: All right. Is the jury acceptable to
the Government?
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: It is, Your Honor.
THE COURT: And to the defense?
MR. TALKIN: Yes, Your Honor.
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All right. Well, thank you. Those of who you have
not been selected, you're excused. You may go downstairs and
tell them that you weren't selected for the jury. I'm
guessing that they will tell you right then and there whether
you need come back again. My guess is that having spent a
whole day doing this, you will not. But, again, I have no
control over that.
Thank you so much for your participation. We
appreciate it.
MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. We just have a few
administrative details to take care of, but before we do that,
I just want to advise all the jurors that the trial will begin
next Monday. That's 2/10. Come to Court to the Central Jury
Room at 9:30 in the morning as you did today, and
Judge Block's chambers will escort you to the courtroom when
it's time, and the trial will begin then.
Does anybody have any questions so far? Okay.
So between now and then and thereafter, you are not
to discuss this case at all, not among yourselves or with
friends or family or anyone. If someone asks you what
happened here today, you're simply to tell them, I've been
selected to serve as a juror in a criminal case, and I've been
instructed by the judge not to discuss the case with anyone.
So if you can, put the case out of your minds.
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You've heard no evidence, there's been no evidence that's
presented so far, nothing on which you could -- which you
could consider at this point with respect to evidence. So
don't think about the case until you come back on Monday, and
the beginning of the trial. At that time, Judge block will
give you instructions regarding your conduct as jurors.
In the unlikely event that you see something in the
newspapers, on the television, on the internet that has to do
with this case or something similar, turn it off; don't listen
to it. It's not evidence. Anything outside of this courtroom
is not evidence.
Do not conduct any research on your own. I know you
wouldn't do that, but the only evidence that's valid is
evidence that comes in that's certified by the judge as
admissible, and takes place here in the courtroom. All right.
Does anybody have any questions about that?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: I just want to reiterate on
what you said in the beginning. We came in at 8:30 today. Do
you want us to come in at 8:30 or 9:30?
THE CLERK: 9:30.
THE COURT: Okay. Any other questions?
If you see the lawyers or anyone else associated
with the case, anybody at counsel table, anyone from here,
don't speak to them. Don't think that they're rude if they
walk by and you pretend that you're not there. They've been
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instructed to remain silent and not to have any contact with
members of the jury. You all are a separate entrance when you
come in through the courtroom. You'll all have your own
separate jury room. The whole purpose is to keep you walled
off from the -- from anything.
Any questions about that? Yes?
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Are we going to need to be
available for two weeks, you said starting on Monday, 10.
THE COURT: We think it's two weeks. It's possible
it will be less.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: Am I to assume that tomorrow
we go back to work -- listener.
THE COURT: Yes.
THE PROSPECTIVE JUROR: -- or go according to our
usual schedule?
THE COURT: Yes. This Court has no claims for your
time between now and Monday at 9:30.
Before you leave, though, we need, first, to give
you a phone number to call in case there's some emergency, and
also, we need to get your phone numbers and internet addresses
just in case.
Anything else we need? Anything else from the
defense?
MR. TALKIN: No. Thank you, Your Honor.
THE COURT: From the Government?
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MR. EDWARDS-BALFOUR: Nothing further. Thank you,
Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Allison, how do you want to do
this? Do you want them all to come up?
THE COURTROOM DEPUTY: I can just pass around a
sheet of paper if you could just write your phone number down.
THE COURT: Print your name. Do it as legibly as
possible.
* * * * *
(Proceedings Concluded at 5:24 p.m. Trial to begin
on June 10, 2024 at 9:30 a.m.)
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