The Massachusetts Appeals Court on Tuesday rejected a defendant’s appeal that his trial judge abused his discretion and that the commonwealth’s attorney-directed voir dire questions demonstrated bias among several jury members, court records show.
During Arthur E. Salsbury Jr.’s criminal trial in January 2020, his counsel conducted voir dire and asked prospective jurors if they “agreed with the proposition that although false accusations of sexual assault happen, it’s rare or infrequent,” and if they “believe that if somebody comes forward and … puts themselves through the process of indicating a sexual assault occurred,” that it is “very likely” that person is “telling the truth.”
