Nov 26, 2009 7:53 am US/Eastern
Dixon Jury Sent Home Until Monday
BALTIMORE (WJZ/AP) ―
-
-
Dixon heads into court Tuesday.
CBS
Jurors in the theft trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon have finished their deliberations for a fifth day. They will return to court Monday. Meanwhile, the judge denied a defense request for a mistrial and permitted the jurors to see some testimony again.
Mary Bubala reports the jury returned to work at 9:06 a.m. Wednesday. The jury received the case mid-day Thursday.
The jury sent the judge a new note Wednesday morning. Juror #11 asked the judge for certain testimony to clarify issues of the case. The note given to the foreperson said, "We would really like to see Turner, Fannon and Anthony transcripts to clarify facts!"
Patrick Turner is a developer who gave Dixon gift cards for the needy. Mary Pat Fannon, who made $90,000 a year as a lobbyist for the city, got a gift card from Dixon for her daughter. Fannon also testified she and her husband have a combined salary of more than $500,000. Edward Anthony is Dixon's boyfriend and also received a gift card.
Around 2 p.m., the judge ruled he was going to allow the jury to hear the testimony. He met with lawyers to supervise the editing of the requested testimony onto DVD.
"Often there is a difference in recollection among jurors as to just what that witness said," legal analyst Andrew Levy said.
The jury was told the material was edited with the stricken material from the trial removed. The jury watched the testimony in courtroom 225 with the defense, prosecution and the judge. It took about an hour 20 minutes to watch the testimony. The judge said no one said anything during the viewing. The jury continued to deliberate until 4:30 p.m. At that point, they asked to be dismissed until Monday. The judge allowed the request, but emphasized the jury needed to follow all the instructions he gave them at the start of the trial. Because of the holiday, the jury won't be back in court until 9 a.m. Monday.
Earlier in the day, Judge Dennis Sweeney had heard arguments from both sides whether to allow the jury to see the testimony. The prosecution seemed fine with the request, but the defense did not want the testimony released, saying the jury should rely on their memory and notes.
The defense also asked for a mistrial Wednesday. Dale Kelberman, one of Dixon's attorneys, argued the jury appeared confused as to what was admitted as evidence and what was excluded when two counts against Dixon were dropped. He says that confusion is evident by a question the jury had Monday about evidence that the judge said was still part of the trial. That evidence dealt with a list of needy families receiving gift cards from the city in 2006. The defense also worried the jury would make a rush to judgment because of the Thanksgiving holiday. The defense also expressed concerns that the jury had been deliberating for as long as it took for them to hear testimony.
"Conventional wisdom is that the defense is always better off when a trial ends without a guilty verdict, even if that means that they may have to re-try the case," said Levy.
The judge denied the motion.
"We are all concerned about how long it is taking in deliberations...but it's not appropriate without hearing from the jury to discontinue deliberations," said Sweeney.
Sweeney agreed with prosecutors that the jury has not indicated it is confused and that the jury's notes to the court indicate they are continuing to do their jobs diligently.
"Until the jury says that they are deadlocked or they're in trouble, there is really no basis for the judge to suggest to them otherwise," said Levy.
"We're not distressed. We have a legal position that we stated in court, that we think is correct and I think what we've said on the record is sufficient and all of you were there. You took good notes and I think we want to leave our legal position in the courtroom," said Dixon's attorney, Arnold Weiner. "We stated exactly how we feel about it and we'll be back here for day six of deliberations."
Dixon left City Hall for court around 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. She later attended the Board of Estimates meeting, but for the most part has been staying close to the courtroom. She seemed calm and happy Wednesday, and had received spiritual support from a bishop at Bethel AME Church.
"I am blessed to be alive," Dixon told WJZ.
On Tuesday, the mayor was in and out of the courtroom throughout the day. She appeared on a radio show in the morning, but did not comment about the court proceedings. While in the courtroom, Dixon has been visiting with supporters.
"She really, at least publicly, has demonstrated enormous grace under this pressure," said Levy.
"She's a lot more in control of her temper than she used to be," said political analyst Matthew Crenson.
Prosecutors say Dixon used gift cards intended for the needy on personal shopping sprees. The defense says the mayor's then-boyfriend, developer Ron Lipscomb, anonymously gave Dixon gift cards for her own use, and she thought gift cards from developer Patrick Turner came from Lipscomb. She's also accused of taking cards from a holiday charity event run by the city.
The jurors in the case say they are making progress. Since deliberations began last Thursday, the jury has passed 30 notes to the judge. They include simple requests like smoking and bathroom breaks, but also questions about evidence in the case.
"The only one who knows what's going on inside that jury room are those jurors," Levy said.
"Right now they're divided and they're trying to resolve their differences," said legal analyst Doug Colbert.
Both the prosecution and the defense say it's impossible to read the jury at this point. Both say they are grateful the jury is so diligent.
While deliberations have stretched for several days, that is not unusual in high-profile cases. Jurors took five days in the trial of former Senate candidate Ruthann Aron, eight days to convict former D.C. Mayor Marion Berry and 13 days to convict Governor Marvin Mandel.
"Juries are inherently unpredictable. Not only don't we really have any idea what is going on behind those closed doors, but frankly the jury itself may not have a clear idea of what the chances are of reaching a verdict, of whether it will be guilty, not guilty or when," Levy said. "The thing I think is safe to predict is that the closer we get to the holiday, the more pressure there will be on the part of the jury to get this done."
The first two counts being considered are counts one and four. They deal with theft and misappropriation for gift cards donated by developer Patrick Turner. Counts three and six deal with theft and misappropriation for gift cards taken from the city housing department. Count seven is misconduct in office. Out of all the counts, the mayor can only be found guilty of three of them because of the way the law is written. The most serious count is count one, which is felony theft. Counts two and five were dismissed last week.
If convicted of any of the five charges, 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.)
WJZ.COM's Most Popular Slideshows
Winter Storm Hits Maryland, Part 3
More Information On Dixon Case
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
Comments