The Seth Penalver jury is in its sixth day of sequestration. This may be a record for a criminal case in Broward County. Lawyers and judge and court staff spent the entire weekend on call, roaming the halls of the courthouse and their offices while deliberations were ongoing.
This morning has been eventful. The parties were informed that two of the jurors are refusing to deliberate any longer, and that the panel is split "10/2". The defense team, believing the ratio to be in their favor, asked to dismiss the two complaining jurors and have them replaced with alternates. The State is not opposing this idea, although they're not agreeing to allow the verdict to be decided by the ten participating jurors alone.
Tom Lynch has recessed the proceedings for lunch. At 2:00 pm he will decide whether to substitute jurors, read an Allen charge, or send them out for a breath of fresh air. Scheduling will not allow us to be present, so hopefully someone from the mainstream media can attend ...
*UPDATE* - SS: Ten original jurors and two alternates will start afresh on Tuesday
vintage everyday blog
This morning has been eventful. The parties were informed that two of the jurors are refusing to deliberate any longer, and that the panel is split "10/2". The defense team, believing the ratio to be in their favor, asked to dismiss the two complaining jurors and have them replaced with alternates. The State is not opposing this idea, although they're not agreeing to allow the verdict to be decided by the ten participating jurors alone.
Tom Lynch has recessed the proceedings for lunch. At 2:00 pm he will decide whether to substitute jurors, read an Allen charge, or send them out for a breath of fresh air. Scheduling will not allow us to be present, so hopefully someone from the mainstream media can attend ...
*UPDATE* - SS: Ten original jurors and two alternates will start afresh on Tuesday
vintage everyday blog