sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Attorneys for former state House majority leader Sheryl Williams Stapleton are asking a federal judge to impanel 200 prospective jurors 鈥� about three times the usual number 鈥� for her trial in August because of the "intense, consistent media attention鈥� the case has received.

Defense attorneys also are asking the judge to approve an expanded jury questionnaire that seeks detailed information from prospective jurors about their familiarity with Stapleton's criminal case and opinions they may have about her service as a state lawmaker.

One question in the proposed questionnaire asks: "How concerned are you about the possibility of politically motivated prosecutions by the U.S. Department of Justice?"

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Aug. 3 in U.S. District Court in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 before District Judge James O. Browning.

The special questionnaire would "save time, mitigate the risk of unfair prejudice, and avoid the unnecessary embarrassment of prospective jurors," defense attorneys argued in a motion filed April 1. "Because of the type of charges, it is also anticipated that many jurors will not be able to remain fair and impartial."

Federal prosecutors have indicated that they oppose the motion, it said. The U.S. Attorney's Office had not filed a response as of Wednesday.

Stapleton's attorney, Ahmad Assed, said Wednesday he could say little about the proposed special jury questionnaire beyond arguments cited in the motion.

"It's a case that's pending and before a federal district court judge and we are very restricted to what we can say relative to an ongoing case," Assed said.

Stapleton, a former sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Public Schools official, was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024 on 35 criminal counts, including allegations of bribery, mail fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud the United States.

The indictment also names Joseph Johnson, a Virginia businessman and owner of Washington, D.C.-based Robotics Management Learning Systems LLC, who is described in the indictment as a close friend of Stapleton's. Both will be tried together.

The indictment alleges Stapleton used her position at APS to direct funding to Robotics for the use of the company's software in district classrooms. She then allegedly directed $1,152,506 from Robotics' checking account into accounts she controlled using blank checks provided by Robotics, the indictment alleges.

The alleged violations took place from July 2013 to June 2020. An sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Democrat, Stapleton represented District 19, east of the University of New Mexico, from 1994 to 2021. She resigned from the House two days after search warrants were served at her home in July 2021 and was fired by APS the following month.

Proposed 鈥榮pecial jury questionnaire鈥�

The motion asks the judge to impanel 200 prospective jurors "unlike the run of the mill felony case where 50-70 jurors might be sufficient to account for jurors who cannot be impartial," defense attorneys argued.

The high-profile case also calls for a more detailed "special jury questionnaire" that probes jurors' knowledge of the allegations, voting habits and opinions about the state Legislature and elected leaders generally.

"The allegations of bribery, fraud, and money laundering, and high-profile nature of the case will raise significant emotions in jurors and require delving into matters that may be very sensitive and private," attorneys argued.

Prospective jurors are typically asked to fill out a questionnaire that contains 20 questions that seeks personal information such as ethnicity and gender, employment, marital status and children, political party affiliation and participation in religious and civic organizations.

The proposed special jury questionnaire lists 29 questions that seek more detailed information, including familiarity with Stapleton, her political career, and media coverage about the criminal case.

Proposed questions ask if jurors "regularly use social media," whether they are registered to vote, how often they vote and whether they ever voted for Stapleton or an opponent. It also asks for "your general opinion of the New Mexico State Legislature and the elected representatives who serve there."

Many of the questions include blank spaces where prospective jurors can provide a written explanation.

"The proposed questionnaire will help streamline this process and limit the number of questions that need to be asked of each juror" during jury selection, attorneys argued.

Olivier Uyttebrouck covers the court system. You can reach him at olivier@abqjournal.com.