And finally…jury’s out on “most hated man in America”

Prospective jurors in the fraud trial of hated pharmaceutical boss Martin Shkreli trampled over the long-established principle of jury impartiality in court transcripts which show juror selection for the trial going quickly awry because he was so disliked.

Mr Shkreli became the object of widespread ire in September 2015 after his company acquired the drug Daraprim, often used in the treatment of HIV/AIDS patients, and raised the price of a pill from $13.50 to $750.

In December 2015, Shkreli was arrested by the FBI after being indicted on unrelated federal charges of securities fraud.

Now, freshly released court transcripts show that over 200 jurors were excused from his trial on the basis that they could not remain impartial.

Excerpts published by Harper’s Magazine reveal juror after juror revealed their inability - or unwillingness - to judge his case fairly, with one calling Mr Shkreli “the most hated man in America”.

But others were more straightforward - with one juror criticising “his entire demeanor, what he has done to people”.

Another juror said: “I don’t think I can because he kind of looks like a dick.”

Both jurors were among those excused from the trial.

Shkreli was convicted of two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiring to commit securities fraud.