A defense lawyer Tuesday morning raised concerns to the court about the jury consultant hired by federal prosecutors, moments before jury selection began in the trial of four remaining defendants charged in the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
Andrew Kohlmetz, who represents defendant Jason Patrick, said he had multiple conversations in November with an employee of Tsongas Litgation Consulting Inc., the same firm that prosecutors have hired to assist them in their jury selection for the current trial.
Kohlmetz said he talked to the consultant several times about potential jurors the defense team might seek and the need for a potential change in venue for the trial. He said he hoped his “private thoughts” have not been shared with the prosecutors’ consultant working for the same firm.
“It did set off some alarms for me,” Kohlmetz told the court.
Tsongas consultant Laura Dominic, hired by the Oregon U.S. Attorney’s Office, sat with federal prosecutors Tuesday for the start of voir dire, the questioning of a panel of potential jurors for the refuge conspiracy case.
The prosecutors’ use of a consultant is highly unusual in federal court — former and present prosecutors who have worked in federal court in Oregon for 30 years couldn’t recall a prosecution team hiring an outside consultant for jury selection in a federal criminal case in Oregon before this one.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight called Kohlmetz’s concerns groundless, since Kohlmetz and no one on the defense ever entered into a contract or formally retained any of the Tsongas consultants.
U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown said “retention” isn’t the standard, noting that Kohlmetz had a conversation with a former employee of the Tsongas consulting company.
“I had multiple conversations over a span of months,” Kohlmetz added.
The judge directed prosecutors to file a declaration from Tsongas Litigation Consultants, affirming that it has taken all necessary steps to ensure nothing from its former employee’s contact with Kohlmetz or any defendant has affected advice given to the U.S. Attorney’s office.”
Dominic has a background in communications and is a senior consultant for Tsongas, where she’s worked since 1997. She received her master’s degree in speech communication from San Diego State University, where her primary research was in juror perceptions of witness credibility as affected by witness ethnicity and linguistic power.
— Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian
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