Martha Jockeys For A Jury

By Julie Rawe

Martha Stewart's recipe for acquittal begins with selecting the most sympathetic jury. In preparation for a Jan. 20 showdown with federal prosecutors in New York City, her legal team spent last week sifting through hundreds of 35-page juror questionnaires that probed such matters as whether people had ever purchased a Martha Stewart product or heard of the biotech firm ImClone. The fate of the domestic diva, who faces charges stemming from her sale of 3,928 ImClone shares shortly before the stock price plummeted in 2001, hinges on whether the jury sees her as a cover-up artist or as a victim of overzealous prosecutors. The good news for Stewart, who faces up to 30 years in prison, is that a recent survey indicates the public's anger at white-collar criminals has abated over the past two years. But studies also show many jurors make up their mind early on in a trial, so the next few weeks are all the more crucial.

Experts say jury selection in this case will depend less on gender, income or homemaking prowess than on the strictness of each juror's moral outlook. "The prosecution is looking for people who see the world in black and white," says jury consultant Donald Vinson. "Martha's lawyers are looking for people who, before blindly obeying a rule, ask how important it is." To help find the latter, Stewart has hired jury psychologist Julie Blackman, whose recent high-profile client Frank Quattrone, the banker charged with obstruction of justice, wound up with a hung jury.

--By Julie Rawe