Connecticut attorney Norm Pattis is now involved in the Roger Stone case.
According to The National Law Journal, Pattis, of The Pattis & Smith Law Firm, is now representing Mike Cernovich, who last week filed a motion seeking the juror voir dire identification number of the the Roger Stone jury’s forewoman and jury questionnaires in the case.
Over the years, Pattis has represented clients in high-profile cases, including Fotis Dulos, who was charged in the murder of estranged wife Jennifer Dulos.
In recent weeks, Pattis has said sentencing guidelines were abused in the Roger Stone case.
Cernovich is asking Judge U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson for permission to sign on to the Stone case as an intervenor so he can see the sealed documents collected by the court during jury selection.
That motion focuses on the jury’s forewoman, Tomeka Hart — who publicly identified herself through social media posts last month — and responses she gave on her questionnaire. Cernovich argues in the filing that her “public conduct has raised constitutional concerns regarding the fairness of the jury trial in the instant matter.”
“Mr. Cernovich, as a journalist and a concerned citizen, respectfully requests the court to allow him to exercise his right under the First Amendment to investigate [Hart],” the motion reads.
The federal jury found Stone guilty in November of seven charges of lying to Congress, impeding a congressional investigation and witness tampering. Stone has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison.
Stone had requested a new trial, saying the jury had a left-wing bias.
The notion that Stone’s trial was tainted by left-leaning jury members, particularly the forewoman, has been promoted aggressively by President Donald Trump and right-wing media.
“There has rarely been a juror so tainted as the forewoman in the Roger Stone case. Look at her background. She never revealed her hatred of ‘Trump’ and Stone. She was totally biased, as is the judge. Roger wasn’t even working on my campaign. Miscarriage of justice. Sad to watch!” Trump tweeted.
The president has also hinted he may pardon his longtime ally.
Judge Jackson said a juror’s social media posts criticizing Trump did not necessarily mean she was biased against Stone.
Jackson specifically criticized Fox News’ Tucker Carlson for falsely claiming an Obama administration official was placed on Stone’s jury and that another juror was married to a “deep state” bureaucrat. The judge also noted that Carlson had accused the forewoman of being an “anti-Trump zealot” and broadcast her Twitter handle during his program.
Jackson allowed Stone’s lawyer, Seth Ginsberg, to question the forewoman and two other jurors in the case. Ginsberg said the forewoman lied on her jury questionnaire when she denied having opinions on federal law enforcement agencies or special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The charges against Stone stem from testimony he gave a congressional committee also probing Russian meddling.
Ginsberg said the forewoman had written Facebook posts supportive of the Mueller investigation and had also retweeted a CNN contributor who criticized Stone’s supporters for complaining about his arrest while remaining silent on police shootings of African Americans.
If such views had been known, Ginsberg said, the forewoman would have been excused from the jury.