DENVER-
Prosecutors and former Qwest chief Joe Nacchio, who was convicted of insider trading, will be permitted to review responses to questionnaires submitted by 1,000 prospective jurors before the trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham said he made the decision even though he believes Nacchio should have made his request before jury selection began.
However, he said, neither the prospective jurors nor the attorneys would be harmed if the questionnaire responses were released now as long as the identity of the potential candidates were protected.
“The court believes that disclosure at this point might well facilitate and expedite appellate review and avoid possible piecemeal appeals,” Nottingham wrote.
Defense attorneys said they needed to see the responses to the questionnaires so they could use the information as they prepare to appeal Nacchio’s conviction.
The questionnaires were sent early this year to residents in metropolitan Denver and southern Colorado, and 81 prospects were called to court for Nacchio’s trial. A panel of eight men and four women heard the evidence and last month issued the guilty verdict.
Nottingham and the attorneys had agreed that potential jurors with a known bias—such as Qwest employees or shareholders—could be excluded.
In a 16-page ruling, Nottingham reviewed the methods used to determine how the summonses were sent and decisions were made on how to handle the expected length of the trial and pretrial publicity.
Although he initially agreed to send a second questionnaire seeking additional details, Nottingham later said those questions should be asked during the selection process when an individual’s demeanor could be judged in person.
Prosecutors alleged Nacchio sold $101 million in stock sales in 42 transactions from January to May 2001 based on inside information that Qwest Communications International Inc. was at financial risk, information they said he did not tell investors.
The jury convicted Nacchio of 19 counts of illegally selling $52 million worth of stock and acquitted him of 23 counts.
At his sentencing, scheduled for July 27, Nacchio faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count. Legal analysts have speculated he will get a prison term of eight to 10 years.
Nacchio also is one of several former Qwest executives named in a pending lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing them of orchestrating a financial fraud at Qwest.
Denver-based Qwest is the primary telephone service provider in 14 Midwestern and Western states.
