by Lynne Huntting
The jury trial involving Kevin Kalkhoven officially started in Oakland District (Federal) Court yesterday [Tuesday], with the Champ Car World Series and PKV Racing co-owner confirming that he intended to be present at each session.
Kalkhoven, looking very tanned and fit, was present in court for the opening day, along with four fellow defendants, including three other former executives of JDS Uniphase Corporation. All plaintiffs have been consolidated with Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Fund as lead plaintiff in the class action suit.
The case essentially centres on ‘insider trading' charges, with a variety of Securities and Exchange Commission violations cited. Adding layer upon layer to the complexity of the case, however, is the variety of charges and not all defendants facing the same charges. Kalkhoven has his own battery of attorneys, while the other three former executives and JDSU having another set. The plaintiffs have their own legal team.
Jury selection was done after a careful
voir dire process, with nine jurors empanelled. The judge, Honourable Claudia Wilkins, gave explicit jury instructions, and then outlined a detailed list of charges against each defendant, while allowing time for lengthy opening statements from the plaintiffs.
Wednesday will hear opening statements from Kalkhoven's lead attorney and that of the other defendants. The schedule also calls for the plaintiffs to call their first expert witness. Wilkins speaks of a scheduled 19-day case, and plans for the case presentation to be completed by the week of Thanksgiving. She anticipates that, after the Thanksgiving break, the case will wind up with closing arguments and jury deliberations
