Asbury Park Press:
“Prospective jurors will be asked if the absence of a body would affect their ability to render an impartial verdict in the Sarah Stern murder case.”
1:15 PM; 1/8/19
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Direct link to the article:
Sarah Stern murder: With body missing, can jurors be fair?
From the article:
“FREEHOLD - Prospective jurors will be asked if the absence of a body would affect their ability to render an impartial verdict in the Sarah Stern murder case.
That was one of the questions discussed in court this morning as jury selection for the trial of Liam McAtasney was about to get underway.
[SBM]
McAtasney's attorney, Carlos Diaz-Cobo, said the absence of a body has the ability to create reasonable doubt about the state's proofs in the minds of jurors. He
objected to the question being asked of potential jurors.
‘To ask this question at the outset signals to the jury that
it's okay to find somebody guilty, despite the absence of a body,’ Diaz-Cobo said.
After Diaz-Cobo and prosecutors wrangled about the language of the question to be posed to jurors, [Judge Richard W.] English ruled that it would, indeed, be asked. He boiled it down to this: ‘Would the fact that a body was not found affect your ability to return a fair and impartial verdict in this case? Why or why not?'’
Other questions potential jurors will be asked are, what famous person they would like to have dinner with, and, if they watch true-crime television shows, whether they think investigations in real life are handled the way they are on the shows.
[SBM]
Jury selection is anticipated to take two weeks. English said he expects the next few days will be spent weeding out potential jurors who cannot sit for a lengthy trial.
In a victory for the defense, English ruled that the lead detective on the case, Brian Weisbrot of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, will not be allowed to sit at the prosecution table for the duration of the trial. Meghan Doyle, assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, argued in favor of having Weisbrot at the table with her and Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Decker because of the complexity of the case.
English rejected Doyle's argument. He said the McAtasney case is nowhere near as complicated as the ‘Operation Dead End'’ gang trial held in Monmouth County in 2017, during which the lead detective was allowed to sit at the counsel table with prosecutors.
[SBM]
Siding with Diaz-Cobo, English said if Weisbrot were to sit at the counsel table with two attorneys during the trial, that could unfairly validate his testimony in the minds of jurors. The judge ordered that Weisbrot and all other potential witnesses with the exception of Stern's father and McAtasney's mother not be allowed to be in the courtroom for the trial when they are not testifying.
[SBM]” (BBM)
