Jury Selection Process
A federal judge in San Francisco spent more than five hours on Thursday attempting to seat a jury for Elon Musk’s upcoming investor class action trial, as prospective jurors acknowledged strong negative views toward the billionaire entrepreneur. From a pool of 93, only nine jurors were selected after extensive questioning about setting aside personal opinions on Musk, according to Bloomberg Law.
He’s like the president of the United States, I could search the entire country. As a public figure, he will excite strong views, and for him in particular, people have strong views.
Dismissed Jurors and Biases
Nearly 40 prospective jurors were quickly dismissed after stating they could not remain impartial. One disagreed with the existence of billionaires. Another hated Musk’s decision to fire content moderators after taking over Twitter. A third indicated that if the case were criminal, he would feel a moral obligation to convict Musk. All were excused. However, not all strong opinions were negative; one prospective juror described Musk as a brilliant scientist who has helped humanity but was also dismissed.
We have so many people in the venire who hate him so much that we’re becoming desensitized.
Selected Jurors and Trial Details
By the end of Thursday, jurors including a salesperson, a mechanical engineer, and a university IT worker had been selected. The trial, set to begin March 2, centers on investor claims that Musk violated securities law in 2022 by publicly wavering on his agreement to buy Twitter, allegedly driving down the company’s stock price during negotiations. Musk may testify during the roughly three-week trial, as well as former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. Musk could not be reached for comment.
