In a telephone interview, Persaud said he called two witnesses: Grace Zalenski, a freelance researcher; and Fred Stiefel, a Victor attorney who has served as both a prosecuting and defense attorney.

According to Persaud, Zalenski conducted telephone surveys of randomly selected Iowa County residents, asking if they had heard of the case, if they had formed an opinion and if they believed the community had formed an opinion. She said that 61 percent of those contacted had heard of the case and of those, 53 percent had formed an opinion, while 71 percent of those believed the community had formed an opinion of the case.

In Linn County, meanwhile, only one person was aware of the case and that person had not formed an opinion, Zalenski said.