Just reported from the Scooter Libby leak trial, from MSNBC's David Schuster:
The jury now, which is in its fourth day of deliberations, has a major problem which could put this entire case on the verge of a mistrial. The jury foreperson sent the Judge a note this morning, saying that one of the jurors in this panel had contact with news coverage of this case and used that information as part of the jury deliberations with others. In other words, this outside news coverage seeped into deliberations despite the Judge adamantly demanding that jurors not watch any news coverage, that they judge this case strictly on what is presented in court. This could be a huge problem. And what the court is now doing is, the Judge and the attorneys, in chambers, are asking the jury foreperson exactly what information has been essentially been moved into jury deliberations, who was the juror who came in contact with it, what did that juror say to the other jurors. And then after the court is done talking to the foreperson, then the Judge and the attorneys on both sides will then go individually, one at a time if necessary, to question each individual juror about what impact all of this had. In most cases, when a Judge has said there can be no consideration of outside information, and that information gets into jury deliberations, in most cases the court will declare a mistrial.
Cripes. Five weeks, 19 witnesses, and it might be for nothing because one person couldn't resist watching the news? Aaarrgghh.
Update: One juror was dismissed and after it was determined that the news coverage she was exposed to was not shared with other jurors, it was decided that the deliberations will continue with 11 jurors. The dismissed juror was the one who did not wear one of the now famous red Valentine's Day t-shirts.
Whoo!
Comments are closed on this story.