NJ prosecutor’s office in spotlight as attorneys for Jayson Williams seek to prove racial bias

Williams’ NJ prosecutors take witness stand

SOMERVILLE, N.J. — The tables have turned on New Jersey prosecutors who brought manslaughter charges against former NBA star Jayson Williams.

Current and former employees of the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office are taking the witness stand as part of a probe into whether the case against Williams, who is black, has been racially biased.

Hunterdon County Prosecutor J. Patrick Barnes, who is white, was the first witness Tuesday. Former assistant prosecutor Steven Lember, who tried Williams in 2004, also is expected to testify.

The hearings stem from the disclosure of a racial slur used by an investigator to describe Williams after a fatal shooting at his mansion in 2002.

Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but faces a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count.