The judge overseeing Michael Steinberg’s insider trading trial said he’s not inclined to give the SAC Capital trader special treatment tied to the “media storm” surrounding the high-profile case.
Steinberg’s lawyer had asked Manhattan federal Judge Richard Sullivan to give potential jurors a questionnaire to screen for bias as a result of the media coverage stemming from Steinberg’s upcoming trial.
Sullivan said he doesn’t think a questionnaire is necessary because the publicity surrounding the case hasn’t been much different from other cases.
“I’m not sure it’s categorically different,” Sullivan said at yesterday’s hearing.
In a memo earlier this week, Steinberg’s lawyer, Barry Berke, argued that his client, who has worked at SAC since 1997, may not get a fair trial due to the hundreds of stories about his case, as well as those linking him to his hedge-fund boss and founder of SAC, Steven Cohen, who is also being probed by prosecutors and the FBI.