No verdict today, ladies and gentlemen. No — it seems that one of the jurors had been discussing the case outside the courtroom, a big no-no, and now the two sides are in a fight over whether to toss her.
From the AP:
Prosecutors argued that a female juror should be dismissed because she disregarded the judge’s instructions on several occasions and told other jurors Tuesday she had discussed the costs of a golf trip to Scotland with her father. Safavian’s expenses for the August 2002 trip arranged by Abramoff have been an issue in trial testimony.The defense opposed replacing the juror with an alternate and said U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman should just give jurors a stiff warning to stop all outside discussions.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman, who questioned the juror, decided he wanted to study similar cases before ruling on the government’s dismissal motion. He said he would rule Tuesday morning, and asked the jury to return then.