As you may have heard, the Galleon insider trading trial kicks off this week, with Raj Rajaratnam himself expected to take the stand at some point. Like every trial by jury, the process of selecting jurors will prove a formidable task, given the complicated nature of the case, and that the defense needs to make sure the fate of their client will not be left to biased individuals, with certain opinions about Wall Street and Raj in particular. The thing about prejudice, though, is that it doesn’t always present itself in the most direct possible way. Few people will probably offer, for example, that they’re “of the mind that anyone working in the financial services industry is a greedy, corrupt bastard guilty of whatever he or she has been accused of,” but if you took a gander at their reading material and saw highlighted and underlined articles by a certain writer for Rolling Stone you might get an inkling of their point of view. To that end, the questionnaire potential jurors will be asked to fill out for the Galleon trial hit on every possible area where one’s bias could be revealed. Here’s a sampling of the questions:

* Do you like to read books? ______ Yes ______ No If yes, What types of books do you read? ___________________________________

* What TV shows, newscasts, radio shows and internet websites do you enjoy on a regular basis?

* Do you have strong positive or negative views about any of the following individuals. Federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI? ____ Yes ____ No Wall Street Executives? ____ Yes ____ No Technology Company Executives ____ Yes ____ No Prosecutors? ____ Yes ____ No Defense Counsel? ____ Yes ____ No If Yes, what are your views? ___________________________________

* Hedge Funds have been reported in the news over the past few years. Do you have any feelings concerning this industry? ____ Yes ____ No If Yes, please describe your feelings: _________________________

* How knowledgeable or familiar do you consider yourself to be about Hedge Funds? Please explain.
_____________________________________________________________

* How honest do you think Wall Street Executives are?
1 Not at All Honest
2 Below Average Honesty
3 Average Honesty
4 Above Average Honesty
5 Extremely Honest
Please explain your answer. ________________________

And here are some questions that will be posed in a follow-up session: Continue reading »