‘El Chapo’ lawyers propose questionnaire for potential jurors

Prosecutors and lawyers for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera filed a 41-page proposed jury questionnaire on Thursday for the accused Mexican cocaine kingpin’s scheduled fall trial with questions ranging from prospective jurors’ racial biases to their views of drug legalization.

The 120 questions, which have to be okayed by Brooklyn U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan, seek routine biographical information about age, gender and work, but also include less typical queries tailored to a celebrity drug defendant whose exploits included two highly publicized jail escapes.

“Are you familiar with Jesus Malverde?” asks one question, a reference to a Robin Hood-style folk hero sometimes compared to Guzman in his home state of Sinaloa.

“Do you have any personal views toward people of Mexican descent that would cause you to doubt your ability to be a fair and impartial juror?” asks another, offering to let jurors discuss their feelings in “a more private setting.”

And others address the fear factor: “The charges in this case involve allegations related to a conspiracy to murder several individuals. Is there anything about the charges . . . that you believe would affect your ability to serve as a fair and impartial juror?”

Guzman, 60, was extradited last year to face charges that as head of the feared Sinaloa cartel he used intimidation and violence to run a massive drug trafficking operation that shipped 20 tons of cocaine into the U.S.

A pool of 650 jurors is expected to fill out the questionnaire in mid-August. The trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 5, and the questionnaire advises projected jurors that it is likely to last 12 weeks.

Cogan has ruled that the jury will be anonymous, with their identities known only to court personnel, despite defense objections that it could send a message of fear that might prejudice Guzman.

In introductions that the defense and prosecution have not agreed on, the two sides propose slightly different language to assure confidentiality, telling jurors that it’s to protect their privacy and directing them to not to disclose any personal identifying information.

The proposed questionnaire delves into projected issues at trial – asking prospective jurors how they feel about informants testifying in hopes of lenient treatment, wiretaps, and charges based on conduct that occurred outside the United States.

It also includes an entire section devoted to jurors’ exposure to publicity and knowledge of “el Chapo” and the Sinaloa Cartel, and asks about any bias they might bring to a case about “large scale narcotics trafficking” based on personal experience or political views.

“Do you have any specific views or feelings concerning the legalization of drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, in this country?” asks one question. “…Would they affect your ability to serve as a fair and impartial juror?”