Nov 21, 2009 9:02 am US/Eastern
Dixon To Keep Up Public Appearances This Weekend
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ―
Mayor Sheila Dixon is keeping up a busy public schedule when she is not in the courtroom.
Over the weekend, Dixon is scheduled to appear at a high school fair, the dedication of a park, the distribution of turkeys and the Santa House lighting ceremony in the Inner Harbor.
The jury finished deliberating for a second day in Mayor Sheila Dixon's trial without reaching a verdict.
Deliberations started around 9:05 a.m. Friday. Lunch was delivered and the jury deliberated through it.
Around 3:40 p.m., jurors sent the judge a note. The note said, "Things are getting overheated. May we be dismissed for the day?" The judge told them to come back at 9 a.m. Monday. The jury has already debated 11 hours over two days.
An expert said asking to be sent home early may not be a bad thing.
"But if you get a note like this after they've been together for a while, if that should happen, that might begin to look like a bigger problem," said Andrew Levy. "What these notes do seem to indicate is that the jury is really drilling down on these charges and on the evidence and they're not making a quick or a knee-jerk reaction to the guilt or innocence question."
The mayor's defense attorneys say they're not worried.
"You're talking about laypeople who are just being educated about some legal issues and so it's not surprising. It's typical they ask questions like that," said Dale Kelberman. "So far, nothing surprises us at all and we hope they're being conscientious. That's all we can ask."
The jury came back to the judge with a question Friday morning. This question dealt with count three, the theft of the city housing authority gift cards from the Holly Trolley event. The gift cards were meant for the needy, but were found in Dixon's bedroom six months after the event. They were not spent.
"They are hung up on this question of the mayor's failure to return the cards and at what point that becomes a misappropriation or a theft," Levy said.
Juror #10 told the judge they understood the part about if the defendant took the property of the housing authority, but had questions about the part talking about if she did so "without authorization and the intent to deprive the owner of property." The juror wanted to know if intent could be determined by the actions of the defendant at the time of the action or at a later date.
Over the defense's objections, the judge wrote back and told the jury to refer to their jury instructions. He said the definition of proof of intent is on page 17 and an explanation of the theft charges is on page 20.
"This is part of the problem of having these inconsistent theories," said Judge Dennis Sweeney.
Sweeney is referring to the counts that refer to both misappropriation and theft. Dixon cannot be found guilty of both.
"It's a slippery slope when we try to analyze the minds of the jurors," said Robert Rohrbaugh, state prosecutor. "They are back there now, in all likelihood, looking at the evidence, like they should be. They are not listening to or remembering what the lawyers said."
"It's like reading tea leaves. You can't tell anything about it, in my opinion, from the questions that have been asked," Kelberman said.
"This was a contested trial. Jurors are going to have different points of view," said Doug Colbert, who said he believes there's a very real chance for a hung jury.
Meanwhile, the judge told the defense team that if the defendant needs to be present in the court to respond to any notes, they need to have the defendant in court. Dixon had spent part of the day Thursday at City Hall. Dixon came to the courthouse just after 8:30 a.m. Friday. She talked to her supporters in the courtroom.
Arnold Weiner, Dixon's defense attorney, says the mayor has gotten more work done Friday than in the past several weeks. He said it's a good diversion for Dixon being required to be in court.
Weiner told
WJZ he expected Friday to be an important day.
"We all got a good night's sleep and we're ready to go," he said.
Mary Bubala reports the panel of nine women and three men got the case around 12:30 p.m. Thursday after hearing closing arguments from the prosecution and defense.
Around 3 p.m., the jury was back in court with a question. They wanted a transcript of all witness testimony for the prosecution and the defense. The judge told the jury that was not available and to rely on their notes and their recollection of the testimony.
Around 4 p.m., a juror buzzed the judge. One member of the defense team and one member of the prosecution met behind closed doors with the judge. Juror #10 wanted to know the legal definition of the word "misappropriation." In a separate note from jurors #1 and #10, the jury also wanted to know if misappropriation had to happen over a specific time period. The judge decided at that point to rule on that question in the morning. Shortly after that, the jury was sent home.
On Friday, the judge told the jury to refer to their jury instructions for the legal definition of "misappropriation." He also said he didn't understand the question about misappropriation over a time period. He told them that if they still needed an answer, they would have to re-write the question.
"I think there's a very good chance this jury will be considering the evidence for some substantial period of time," said legal analyst Doug Colbert.
After the judge let the jury go Thursday, jurors buzzed the judge again with another note. Judge Sweeney told them he couldn't legally entertain their question since court had been dismissed for the day, and told them to "go away."
On Friday it was determined that the jurors wanted a legal dictionary. Sweeney said he couldn't give them one.
In closing arguments, Shelly Glenn, the senior assistant state prosecutor, said the case is "simple." She recounted the testimony from developer Patrick Turner, who testified Dixon called him in 2005 about donating gift cards for the needy. Those cards were later used by Dixon.
"It's almost as if she is phoning in her order," Glenn said.
Prosecutors say Dixon used gift cards for the needy on personal shopping sprees.
In a packed courtroom, Glenn also used images of merchandise, store receipts and other documents to show how investigators traced purchases that Dixon made at Best Buy and Target to the Turner gift cards.
Some of the merchandise, including a video camera, was later found in Dixon's home.
The defense argues Dixon thought gift cards from Turner came from developer and ex-boyfriend Ron Lipscomb.
"She can't win with [the prosecutors]. If there is any transaction, it has to be criminal," Weiner said. "I ask with all sincerity in me to return a verdict of not guilty and end this nightmare."
Weiner drew applause from Dixon supporters and occasional laughter from the crowded gallery Thursday as he called the state's case thin. Judge Sweeney admonished the crowd about the applause.
"Really the ultimate compliment for a defense lawyer, to have the gallery applaud when you're finished and that's the one time they got a rise out of Judge Sweeney, who admonished the gallery, not to remonstrate like that," said legal analyst Andrew Levy.
Levy says the prosecutor was no slouch either, laying out facts and figures methodically and not letting courtroom outbursts get in their way.
"He did as a good public corruption prosecutor is supposed to do. He said, `This isn't about me. This is about the people of Baltimore, who have a right to integrity in their public officials,'" Levy said.
Weiner described Dixon as an honest woman of faith and dedication who received hundreds of dollars worth of Target and Best Buy gift cards as an anonymous personal gift.
"She has had to endure one of the most intrusive investigations that a human being could go through, to come up with what?" Weiner said.
Rohrbaugh gave the state's rebuttal.
"Good people sometimes do bad things. I don't care if you are the lowest level city employee or the mayor, people are treated equally under the law," he said. "The fact remains she stole gift cards. The evidence before you suggests the verdict must be guilty. This case is about the citizens of Baltimore, the children of Baltimore. They expect and demand integrity of their public servants."
The judge spent more than half an hour instructing the jury about how to decide the remaining five counts against Dixon. A foreperson was chosen for the jury. She is an African-American woman known as "Juror #4." The alternates for the case have been dismissed.
Dixon faces five counts after the judge dismissed two earlier this week. They dealt with the gift cards Dixon received from Lipscomb. The judge found that it was unclear whether the gift cards were intended for the needy or the mayor.
Arnold Weiner told
WJZ that the absence of Lipscomb's testimony leaves a "gaping hole" in the prosecution's case against the mayor. Weiner was planning to argue Lipscomb lavished the mayor with gifts during their affair and that the mayor thought the gift cards were for her to use as she saw fit.
Of the five counts that remain against the mayor, because of the way the indictment was written, she likely won't be found guilty of all of them.
"You lay this big thing in front of the jury, this is our case, this person is gonna testify, this is the worst case in the world. We've been in three years in the making of this case. We're going to give you all this evidence, and then nothing appears," said A. Dwight Petit, legal analyst.
Jurors were instructed that finding the mayor guilty of count one--the only felony--that she outright stole gift cards from developer Patrick Turner means they can't find her guilty of count four, fraudulent misappropriation of those same gift cards. In that count, prosecutors claimed she received Turner's donated gift cards on behalf of the city for needy children, but instead used them for herself.
A guilty finding on both counts would create an inconsistent verdict.
"We filed motions addressing those counts, and the judge is going to be giving some instructions relating to them," said Weiner.
The verdict isn't in yet, but the citizens of Baltimore have already reached their decision, and many of them think that she's guilty.
"She's a good mayor, but you do something wrong, you should pay the price," a man said.
"I think it's a witch hunt. I think they're out to burn that woman," said another.
"She was wrong to do it, if it was intended for someone else," a man said.
"Using up time and money that should be devoted to running the city," a woman said.
"I just want to see it over with so she can get on with her life and we can get on with ours," another said.
If convicted of any charge, Dixon could be removed from office, lose her $83,000 annual pension and face fines or jail time.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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