Prospective jurors in the upcoming trial of a Paterson man charged with murdering a National Guardsman will be asked whether they followed the recent Casey Anthony trial and, if so, to share their thoughts about it.
Susan McCoy, assistant deputy public defender, asked Judge Greta Gooden-Brown to include the question. The judge agreed the questions about the recent high-profile case would help determine what potential panelists think about
the presumption of innocence, reasonable doubt and the criminal justice system.
Jurors will be asked two questions:
Did they follow the Casey Anthony trial?
If so, how closely did they follow it and by what means?
Depending on how jurors answer, they may then be brought into the judge’s chambers for more detailed questioning about what they thought of the case and its outcome.
Jury pool in Paterson murder trial to be asked about Casey Anthony case - NorthJersey.com
After the verdict of guilty for the murder of his wife, Robert "Bob" Ward's attorney Kirk Kirkconnell said, "certainly what happened to Casey Anthony makes it more difficult for any defendant, probably anywhere in the state of Florida, to get a fair trial and that's a concern."