Jayant Patel given rare privilege of polling potential jurors to establish bias due to media coverage Jayant Patel arrives at Supreme Court Brisbane with his legal team. A JUDGE has granted former Bundaberg surgeon Jayant Patel the rare privilege of polling potential jurors to establish if they are biased due to adverse media coverage. The 62-year-old former doctor was in the Brisbane District Court on Thursday to ask for the right to poll jurors in the wake of saturation media reporting over many years relating to his time at the Bundaberg Base Hospital. Barrister Ken Fleming, QC, for Patel, told the court a simple Google search on a computer using the name Jayent Patel or the term "Dr Death" could yield anywhere up to 661 million online articles. Mr Fleming said his client had been subjected to unprecedented media scrutiny over "many years now" and that he should have the right to poll the jury panel to weed out potentially biased jurors. Patel's application relates to his proposed three week trial, set to commence on September 23, for allegedly causing grievous bodily harm to Ian Rodney Vowles during surgery in October 2004. It is alleged Mr Vowles suffered major complications as a result of Patel "whipping out" his bowel. " (There has been) publicity surrounding Dr Patel for many years now," Mr Fleming told the court. A Google search of 'Dr Death' yields more than 6 million hits, including a pop-up bio of Jayant Patel. The publicity has fallen off a bit since the previous trial (for manslaughter earlier this year). We do seek the polling of the jury. We are concerned about whether or not the (previous) reporting (of the case) may affect the jury. Prosecutor Peter Davis, QC, told the court the DPP did not oppose Patel's application. Judge Terry Martin, QC, granted Patel's application, saying he was satisfied that pre-trial media coverage warranted the polling potential jurors. In an Australian first, Patel was granted the opportunity in February to poll the jury ahead of his trial for the alleged manslaughter of patient, Mervyn John Morris. A jury subsequently found Patel not guilty of unlawfully killing Mr Morris. Patel has also yet to stand trial on charges of allegedly killing patients Gerry Kemps, 77, and James Phillips, 46, as well as even counts of fraud plus attempted fraud at Bundaberg between December 2002 and April 2005.