Potential Jurors Tested On Knowledge Of Brooke Astor

As the NY Times reports, the case of Brooke Astor's son, Anthony Marshall, is "less than halfway through a painstakingly long jury selection process, made especially difficult by the fact that the trial is expected to last two to three month." Marshall, 82, is accused of trying to steal his ailing mother's estate, a charge that rocked high society. Potential jurors are asked if they know who Brooke Astor is, as well as their opinions of the wealthy (the Daily News notes, "Do you have a problem with rich people? If you do, you may be able to get out of serving as a juror") and whether they have wills. Marshall's attorney is "concerned" about the many articles written about the case and hopes jurors can "separate what they have read from the evidence." The Post witnessed one person outside the courthouse yell at Marshall, "Hey, that was his mother's money! That was his mother's money!"

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on April 3, 2009 6:50 PM

Comments [rss]

belicoso

It may make it more difficult for Marshall to get a fair trial due to all the publicity the case has been getting, but if there wasn't any semblance of wrongdoing then this would not be an issue for him. It is a shame to see someone accused of stealing from their own family, especially from their own mother. At least everyone knew what to expect when gold-digger Anna Nicole Smith married J. Howard Marshall. Her motivation was clear, but you're basically always blindsided when the crime is committed by a family member. But either way, neither case should still be going on, the matter between Astor's estate and her son should've been resolved by now and the case involving the estates of J.Howard Marshall and Anna Nicole should've long been decided against Anna. Justice Kennedy may have dealt a decisive blow against the claim of Anna's estate and lets hope that the court in the Tony Marshall's case finally gives him a fair and speedy trial which results in an appropriate verdict.