Courtroom Chronicles 2011

Not a single guilty verdict

Our long wait is at an end and we finally have (a few) answers in the Gambling Corruption trial.

The jury submitted a note just before noon saying that once again (like Tuesday) they reached unanimous verdicts on some of the counts but felt that they would never agree on others. After attorneys all gave their opinions it was decided that no one wanted an Allen Charge (An official charge given by the judge to the jury to compel them to continue deliberations. It's a firm reminder of the duty they have serving as a juror on a case. They key thing is to put personal opinion aside and work solely off of the evidence.) and that they would accept the verdicts the jury offered today and declare a mistrial on the rest.

At 2:11 this afternoon the clerk began to read to the court the fate of the nine defendants on trial. Out of 124 counts read to the court, 91 of them came back not guilty, 33 were undecided and declared a mistrial. The jury did not convict any of the defendants on any counts.

Sen. Quinton Ross and Lobbyist Bob Geddie were found not guilty on all counts. The other 7 defendants aren't off the hook yet. With a mistrial comes the possibility of a re-trial on those 33 counts (read the full list of verdicts HERE).

Judge Thompson told the court before proceedings ended today that he will set a date for the next trial ASAP - possibly within the month.

Catch up with all of the courtroom happenings on our Verdict Watch CoverIt Live Blog:

Waiting Game

Jury went home early today...half an hour early at 4:30 p.m.

We've heard different things from the attorneys all day today, some believed that we would have some kind of news from the jury. Susan James in particular believed we would hear something.

She told us that yesterday she could hear banging noises coming from the conference room where the jury is deliberating. Today was all quiet and people were coming out smiling on their breaks.

Regardless of jury attitude, we'll still be back here tomorrow playing the waiting game for the Verdict Watch.

Jury says it's divided on multiple counts

The jury in the federal corruption trial sent a short but very telling note to Judge Myron Thompson late in the day Tuesday.

It read: "We have reached unanimous consent on counts, but this jury feels that we will never reach unanimous consent on all counts."

The note also asked the court for guidance on what it should do moving forward.

Defense attorneys and federal prosecutors each had their recommendations for the judge as to how he should instruct the jury. Attorneys for the government asked that the judge tell jurors that they have only been deliberating for four days and that if they had any questions they could ask them whenever they felt it necessary.

Attorneys for the nine defendants were split on the matter. Victoryland owner Milton McGregor's attorney Joe Espy said he simply wanted Judge Thompson to tell them to keep deliberating. Lobbyist Tom Coker's attorney concurred, as did Sen. Harri Anne Smith's attorney Jim Parkman.

However, attorneys for former Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker, Sen. Quinton Ross, legislative analyst Ray Crosby, and Bob Geddie all had a different opinion. They didn't disagree with asking that the jury keep working, but they did want to know which verdicts had been decided upon.

Judge Thompson didn't rule out the possibility of onl;y a partial verdict when he told defense attorneys to be ready with their clients because he felt the return of verdicts could happen tomorrow. Thompson said if the jury sent him another note then he may inquire about which counts and defendants had been decided by the jury.

The jury instructions once it was brought in was to simply keep deliberating.

Jurors will be back in the deliberation room at 9AM tomorrow and the possibility of verdicts in this trial is that much closer. 

Partial verdict reading could be possible

Around 4:00 this afternoon members of the media received their 25-minute recall text alert saying there was an "important" note from the jury. We've gotten texts like this before but none with the "important" denotation.

Once the 25 minute time period lapsed the Judge entered the courtroom and passed the note out to the attorneys and entered it into record.

The note said:

"We have reached unanimous consent on SOME counts but this jury feels we will never reach unanimous on all counts. We await your direction."

Court then recessed for 10 minutes for attorneys to come up with a preferred plan of action that the judge could give the jury.

At the end of the recess all attorneys explained what they wanted to have read to the jury. Attorneys for the government asked that the jury be sent back to continue deliberations because they had only been working for four days. He ask that the judge advise the jury to continue to send notes if they had any questions.

McGregor's attorney also wanted to send the jury back but without the caveat detailing the notes for additional questions. Coker's attorney also agreed with that position. Geddie's attorney did not. Geddie's attorney wanted Judge Thompson to ask the jury if they had reached all verdicts for any one of the defendants and then to have those verdicts addressed. Means' and Preuitt's attorneys sided with McGregor. Ross agreed with McGregor except that he wanted to inquire if the jury settles all verdicts for any of the defendants. Smith, Walker and Crosby all sided with Ross.Thompson told the attorneys he would ask the jury to continue to deliberate but if he recieved another note he would consider having the already determined verdicts read.

Judge Thompson returned the jury to the courtroom and asked they they continue to deliberate the case. The jury asked to be dismissed for the night and return at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. That request was granted and court was dismissed.

Thompson addressed the attorneys after the jury left the courtroom telling them to be on standby tomorrow and to be ready for a verdict for at least some of the defendants.

Waiting and waiting

Jurors entered the deliberation room late Friday afternoon.

They proceeded to work all day Saturday and then Sunday afternoon.

It didn't reach verdicts between 8AM and 5PM Monday either.

We are all simply sitting on pins and needles as we wait for the jury to come back with verdicts.

Perhaps the most eventful moment of the deliberations came when the jury asked Judge Thompson Saturday afternoon for the definition of "unlawful plan" as it refers to the first count in the indictment, the conspiracy charge. Since then though, it has been all quiet.

Jurors are sequestered during this process. They are staying in some hotel nearby and do not have access to newspapers, television, or the internet. The goal is to ensure that the jury has no outside contact to anyone or anything that could alter their opinions in any way.

We understand that the jury has taken many breaks throughout the deliberations process. We learned that they took a break just before 5PM Sunday, when they had scheduled to adjourn. Some attorneys, like Susan James who represents former Country Crossing spokesman Jay Walker, says that could be indicative of constanct disagreements and arguments. She says she believes the deliberations room is getting more and more heated.

Other defense attorneys, like Sen. Harri Anne Smith's (I - Slocomb) lead attorney Jim Parkman say they don't put any stock in the notion that breaks mean anything. Parkman simply said, "They may be like me and need a cup of coffee every 20 minutes."

Federal prosecutors have refused to speak to the press since the trial began.

Although defense attorneys keep making predictions regarding when the jury will reach verdicts, the fact is there is nothing, from we can tell, that's guiding those predictions besides gut instinct. Some attorneys say the verdict can come any day, others say they wouldn't rule out a month long deliberation considering the jury has to consider nine defendants and 39 counts.

For now, we'll be waiting.

Verdict Watch - Cover It Live

Day 3 Closing Arguments - Cover It Live

Day 2 Closing Arguments - Cover It Live

Day 1 Closing Arguments - Cover It Live

Defense rests its case on Day 34