Ethics Newsline®

CHICAGO
Jury selection was completed last week in the trial of Canadian media tycoon Conrad Black — a process that revealed some surprisingly candid juror attitudes about CEOs.

The jury was empanelled after 86 people were questioned over a two-day period. Prospective jurors were quizzed aggressively about their attitudes toward executive white-collar crime, according to the Toronto Globe & Mail.

An analysis from the Edmonton Sun notes that juror attitudes about alleged CEO transgressions make it challenging to find an impartial jury. Sun correspondent Peter Worthington, covering the trial in Chicago, writes that the judge “has tried over and over to convince potential jurors that someone is not necessarily a crook because he makes million of dollars, and is not bilking the government if he has a legal tax loophole, and that an FBI agent’s testimony is not necessarily more credible than a CEO’s.”

The Chicago Tribune notes that even a prospective juror who suggested she was already convinced Black had done something wrong was eventually accepted on the jury. She said Black and his defendants must have done something wrong “if they got into trouble and needed to be in court.” Although the defense attempted to have her removed, the judge ruled that prospective juror had indicated that she accepted that the defendants are presumed innocent.

Black is accused of stealing $84 million from Hollinger International Inc., the newspaper chain he once owned. Three of his former executives also are on trial. All have pleaded innocent, reports the Toronto Star.