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The jury foreman in Sen. Ted Stevens’s criminal case has asked Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to dismiss one juror because of her “violent outbursts,” temporarily delaying deliberations in the Alaska Republican’s corruption case. Sullivan, of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, temporarily ordered the jury to stop deliberating until the court resolved the concern. After bringing in the jury for a “pep talk,” the judge said the talks could proceed and told them to “encourage civility and mutual respect.” A note sent by the foreman, a man who works at a drug rehabilitation center, said that the jury requests the woman’s removal because “she’s being rude, disrespectful and unreasonable” and has had “violent outbursts with other jurors and that’s not helping anyone.” “The jurors are getting off course,” the note said. “She is not following the laws and rules that were stipulated ... in the instructions.” The juror in question is a woman who appears to be middle-aged and is a bookkeeper for the D.C. National Guard. On Wednesday, the jury asked for the judge's permission to leave early because of “stressful” talks, but did not elaborate on that characterization. Sullivan called the note “very serious” and said he wanted to inquire further about the “violent outbursts” of the juror. The judge said he would “not intrude in the deliberation process.” But he said: “If there is a threat of violence, I’m going to take whatever the appropriate action is.” He later backed off and seemed to be persuaded by the defense’s argument to encourage the jurors to work out their differences instead. The defense may interpret the feuding to mean that one juror is holding out and preventing the rest to reach a unanimous decision. And the judge may not want to unnecessarily interfere in a key point of the deliberations. The jurors appeared to be in a light mood when they entered the courtroom, and Sullivan said the foreman “seemed to be encouraged by the court’s response.” But he added that “time will tell” if the court needs to intervene further. The jury is in its second day of deliberations. If the juror were dismissed, an alternate -- who sat through the entire four-week trial -- may return in her place, causing a disruption in the proceedings. She likely would then be replaced by a man in his early 20s.
But that could further delay a verdict in the trial, which Stevens wants to end before he faces voters on Nov. 4. The longest-serving Senate Republican has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of making false statements. |
