Free Proposed Voir Dire - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:04-cr-00103-REB

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Filed 03/01/2007

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO

Criminal Case No. 04-cr-00103-REB UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff, v. 1. NORMAN SCHMIDT, 2. GEORGE ALAN WEED, 4. CHARLES LEWIS, and 6. MICHAEL SMITH, Defendants. _____________________________________________________________________ GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS _____________________________________________________________________ The Government, by Wyatt Angelo and Matthew T. Kirsch, the undersigned Assistant United States Attorneys, hereby submit the government's proposed voir dire questions pursuant to the Court's SECOND TRIAL PREPARATION ORDER (Dkt. # 720). 1. Have you, your family members, or any friends or acquaintances ever been arrested or charged with a criminal offense? (If so, the government requests that the Court question the potential juror regarding the circumstances at a side bar conference.) 2 Have you, your family members, or any friends or acquaintances ever been the subject of a criminal investigation that left you with bad feelings about law enforcement generally, law enforcement officers or prosecutors? If so, explain

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how this would affect your ability to render an impartial verdict based only on the evidence? 3. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division and the Colorado Division of Securities. Have you, a family member, friend or acquaintance had any experience or dispute with any of these agencies which has left you with animosity or a bad feeling concerning these agencies or the government? Would these feelings make it difficult for you to render a fair and impartial verdict in any way? 4. This trial is scheduled to last ten weeks, with evidence being presented Monday through Thursday. Would it be difficult for you to sit as a juror in a trial of this length medically, emotionally or financially? 5. It is anticipated that this trial will involve many documents as part of the evidence. Will any of you have difficulty following the evidence when based on a large volume of documents and papers? 6. Do any of you have religious, moral or ethical concerns about sitting on judgment of another person? 7. Do any of you feel it would be necessary for you to know what punishment may be imposed by the Court before being willing to sit on a jury or finding a defendant guilty, if the government has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt? 8. The evidence in this case may include testimony about an undercover operation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Do any of you have any 2

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feelings about the propriety of gathering or using information from this type of operation? 9. There may also be evidence from a citizen who acted as an informant. Do any of have any feelings about the propriety of gathering or using information from this type of source? 10. Are there any of you who believe that the government should be required to prove a defendant guilty beyond any doubt instead of beyond a reasonable doubt? 11. You may hear evidence from a cooperating co-defendant who has already pleaded guilty in this case and who is seeking leniency in exchange for his cooperation. Would either or both of those facts make you automatically disbelieve that person's testimony without considering any other factors which might support the credibility of his testimony? 12. The law requires that your verdict be based on the facts and the law, without considering feelings of sympathy, prejudice, or hostility. In this case you may hear evidence concerning the age or medical situation of some of the defendants. Do any of you feel that you cannot put those factors out of your mind in deciding this case? 13. Have you, your family members, or any friends or acquaintances ever been the victim of or witness to a crime? What type of crime? Were you unsatisfied with the way the matter was handled, investigated or prosecuted? 14. Do any of you feel that circumstantial evidence should not be considered in your deliberations concerning this case or that it is less trustworthy? 3

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15.

Do any of you believe that a defendant is more likely to be guilty if he does not testify?

16.

Do any of you believe that a defendant who gives up his right to remain silent and testifies is more likely to be telling the truth for that reason?

17.

Do any of you believe that law enforcement officers or more likely to be credible because of their position?

18.

Do any of you believe that law enforcement officers are less likely to be credible because of their position?

19.

The law in this case may require that you hold one defendant legally responsible for the acts committed by another defendant. Do any of you believe that this is improper or that this requirement would make it more difficult for you to render a decision?

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Do any of you believe it is important for you to hear as part of the evidence matters concerning a defendant's history unrelated to this case before being able to render a verdict?

21.

Do any of you believe it would be important for you to know what has happened to persons not on trial and implicated by the evidence before being able to render a verdict?

22.

Do any of you have any experience with the registration, sale or purchase of securities or with investing generally?

23.

Do any of you believe that you cannot be objective in deciding this case for any reason?

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Respectfully submitted this 1st day of May, 2007. TROY A. EID United States Attorney District of Colorado

s/ Wyatt Angelo WYATT ANGELO Assistant U.S. Attorney 402 Rood Avenue, Suite 220 Grand Junction, CO 81501 970 241-3843 email: [email protected] MATTHEW T. KIRSCH Assistant U.S. Attorney 1227 Seventeenth Street, Ste. 700 Denver, CO 80202 303-454-0100 email: [email protected]

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Case 1:04-cr-00103-REB

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE (CM/ECF) I hereby certify on this 1st day of March, 2007, I electronically filed the foregoing GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSED VOIR DIRE QUESTIONS with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following email addresses: Peter Bornstein, Esq. [email protected] Thomas Hammond, Esq. [email protected] Declan J. O'Donnell, Esq. [email protected] Ronald Gainor, Esq. [email protected] Richard N. Stuckey, Esq. [email protected] Thomas Goodreid, Esq. [email protected] Mitchell Baker, Esq. [email protected] Richard K. Kornfeld, Esq. [email protected]

s/ Wyatt Angelo WYATT ANGELO Assistant U.S. Attorney 402 Rood Avenue, Suite 220 Grand Junction, CO 81501 970 241-3843 email: [email protected]

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