Rosemary Martoma, a pediatrician, came to the legal defense of her husband, accused inside trader and former SAC Capital portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, in federal court Thursday.
Literally.
Looking like a sugary confection in a pink knit dress with three rows of ruffles at the hemline and a matching jacket, the doctor left the front row of spectators to join her husband and his defense team in a strategy huddle at the defense table.
It happened in the middle of jury selection and Mrs. Martoma appeared to be lending a hand mulling over which potential jurors to strike from the pool of some 35-odd candidates.
Jury selection in the trial, which began Tuesday, was a long, drawn-out process that was finally completed Thursday afternoon with a 12-person jury of seven women and five men.
Four alternates — two men and two women — were also chosen.
Among the jurors is a 66-year-old film professor at New York University, a 52-year old underwriter for AIG, a 64-year-old limo driver who previously had a business in the jewelry district, a 60-year-old unemployed former human resources administrator and a 57-year-old CEO of a footwear company.
On Tuesday, 25 of the 80 potential jurors were eliminated because they said they had read about the case, knew of hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors or had negative feelings about Wall Street, hedge funds or SAC specifically.
In the days that followed, more potential jurors were excused because they said the length of the trial — up to 3-1/2 weeks — would create a hardship.
Mrs. Martoma was joined in court by her husband’s parents and her mother.
Also on Thursday, the court unsealed documents showing that Martoma had been expelled from Harvard Law School in 1999 for forging a transcript and had fabricated phony e-mail evidence on the matter.