by Stop Mike Lupica on September 11 at 3:59PM
The Isiah Thomas sexual harassment suit, filed by a former employee of the Garden, got underway yesterday. The first day was all about questioning potential jurors, and determining whether or not they could be impartial in this case. The NY Times and Daily News both had interesting articles that delved into what kinds of questions were being asked to, and by, the potential jurors.
A lawsuit like this only requires six jurors. They often have two alternatives, though it's not always the case.
Isiah Thomas is represented by three female lawyers, including lead attorney Sue Ellen Eisenberg (a University of Michigan grad who works for a Michigan based law firm - Isiah picked his lawyers from close to home). She's been listed in all sorts of lawyer lists, and has written all sorts of sexual harassment related publications.
One male juror was dismissed from the panel after admitting previously being accused of, and investigated for, "improperly touching a female coworker's arm".
A female juror was similarly eliminated from the panel because her brother was sued for sexual harassment.
Then there were the Knick-specific dismissals... prospective juror Robert Becker was an interesting case. He was dismissed because of "his belief that a disproportionate number of basketball players get into trouble similar to Thomas's". He noted that he stopped rooting for the Knicks after they traded for Latrell Sprewell. Judge Gerald Lynch then pointed out that Isiah Thomas had nothing to do with that trade, while Isiah "dropped his head in mock disappointment".
Another potential juror, Tommy Vasquez, asked the judge to speak freely. "In my opinion, he evaluates talent well but he hasn't done well as the GM of the Knicks". Kathleen Bogas, another one of Isiah's lawyers, felt this made him biased. "He has an opinion about the team on trial in this case", she argued. The judge overruled her objection, noting that it is okay for jurors to follow the team.
One of the jurors who was not cut, a 58 year old receptionist, said that she recognized the name Stephon Marbury from his $15 sneakers. "I think that's great", she told the court.
One juror, a 67 year old doctor, said he would have a hard time complying with the judge's request to ignore the sports pages. "I'm a Yankee fan."
If this is just the beginning of the trial, and with the potential for witness ranging from Stephon Marbury to James Dolan to who know whom else (Larry Brown?), it might behoove the Dolan and the Knicks to seriously think about settling this out of court, and quickly. It's a lose-lose situation - even if they win the case, if this trial gets down and dirty, they do not want or need more bad publicity. Especially with the start of the preseason not too far away.
The trial is scheduled to last no more than two weeks. We'll keep an eye on it.
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A lawsuit like this only requires six jurors. They often have two alternatives, though it's not always the case.
Isiah Thomas is represented by three female lawyers, including lead attorney Sue Ellen Eisenberg (a University of Michigan grad who works for a Michigan based law firm - Isiah picked his lawyers from close to home). She's been listed in all sorts of lawyer lists, and has written all sorts of sexual harassment related publications.
One male juror was dismissed from the panel after admitting previously being accused of, and investigated for, "improperly touching a female coworker's arm".
A female juror was similarly eliminated from the panel because her brother was sued for sexual harassment.
Then there were the Knick-specific dismissals... prospective juror Robert Becker was an interesting case. He was dismissed because of "his belief that a disproportionate number of basketball players get into trouble similar to Thomas's". He noted that he stopped rooting for the Knicks after they traded for Latrell Sprewell. Judge Gerald Lynch then pointed out that Isiah Thomas had nothing to do with that trade, while Isiah "dropped his head in mock disappointment".
Another potential juror, Tommy Vasquez, asked the judge to speak freely. "In my opinion, he evaluates talent well but he hasn't done well as the GM of the Knicks". Kathleen Bogas, another one of Isiah's lawyers, felt this made him biased. "He has an opinion about the team on trial in this case", she argued. The judge overruled her objection, noting that it is okay for jurors to follow the team.
One of the jurors who was not cut, a 58 year old receptionist, said that she recognized the name Stephon Marbury from his $15 sneakers. "I think that's great", she told the court.
One juror, a 67 year old doctor, said he would have a hard time complying with the judge's request to ignore the sports pages. "I'm a Yankee fan."
If this is just the beginning of the trial, and with the potential for witness ranging from Stephon Marbury to James Dolan to who know whom else (Larry Brown?), it might behoove the Dolan and the Knicks to seriously think about settling this out of court, and quickly. It's a lose-lose situation - even if they win the case, if this trial gets down and dirty, they do not want or need more bad publicity. Especially with the start of the preseason not too far away.
The trial is scheduled to last no more than two weeks. We'll keep an eye on it.
Leave a comment
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Can you really find a New Yorker with no opinion on the Knicks AND opinion or experience on sexual harrassment? That's a tall order.....