Results tagged “jury”

The city could make some good money selling tickets and popcorn to this Gotti Jr. trial circus! Yesterday's episode starred Victoria Gotti, the unhinged wife of late mobster John (Dapper Don) Gotti and mother to Gotti Jr., who's currently on trial for racketeering. As Judge Kevin Castel moved to dismisses a juror who was criticized for her vulgar language and pro-defense attitude, the mob matriarch unleashed a profanity-laced tirade.

The jury in the "morbidly obese" defense case heard closing arguments today on defendant William Ates, who is accused of murdering his former son-in-law in 2006, including a potential game-changing piece of evidence. Assistant Bergen Country Prosecutor Wayne Mello even poked fun at Ates' weight, saying, “He’s not running a marathon. I’ll agree he probably can’t do that...What he can do is execute his son.”

One day after Judge Kevin Castel tried to broker peace between fighting jurors on the John Gotti, Jr. racketeering trial, the judge tried to sugarcoat the fragile peace... with Twizzlers. Yesterday Castel presented the jury with a big tub of the artificially-flavored twists, offering three reasons for the gift. One, "If you have a Twizzler in your mouth, you can't really have a serious conversation." (Yeah, that's the last thing you want on a jury.) Two, "If you're frustrated, you've got something to take your frustration out on." (Licorice whip!) And three, "They put you in a good mood." Looks like somebody's going to have to recuse himself from any Twizzler-related lawsuits from now on!

Juror 11 in the John Gotti, Jr. racketeering trial cannot stand Juror 7, and the enmity between the two has gotten so intense that legal experts think it could result in a hung jury—which would be the fourth time federal prosecutors have been derailed by the jury. Yesterday Judge Kevin Castel intervened to try and make peace, but Juror 11, who works as a city procurement-contract analyst, seems to be at the end of her rope.

On Wednesday, it was reported that the latest John Gotti Jr. racketeering trial was experiencing internal problems because of Juror No. 7, a woman who allegedly enjoys "being escorted for cigarette breaks" and is happy to not be at work. Today, the Post is saying that the federal prosecutors' case is now in jeopardy of its fourth hung jury because of Juror No. 7's antics.

New troubles keep trumping old troubles in the already kinda-troubled John Gotti Jr racketeering trial. One juror was already excused because of some bad trades, but today the tabloids report that an anonymous letter has singled out Juror No. 7 for "diva-like behavior and a plan to push deliberations past Christmas."

After complaining about their limited food options, the jurors in John Gotti Jr.'s racketeering trial are feeling better. The Post reports that jurors enjoyed the fare at Spaghetti Western so much, "One juror even gave Manhattan federal Judge Kevin Castel a thumbs-up." While the Yelpers are meh about the Reade Street venue, Midtown Lunch likes the burger, a "1/2-pound-puck-of-chuck perfectly covered with cheese for $11."

Another juror in John Gotti Jr.'s racketeering trial was released—because his subordinate lost him money! The Post reports that the "hedge-fund manager...complained that he had lost a 'significant' bundle of dough when a subordinate 'misconstrued' his trading instructions last week." The judge allowed him to leave, adding, "I'm sorry you experienced the loss. I feel some responsibility for that myself." And there's more juror unrest: They are unhappy with the limited food options AND a cold breeze blowing on the juror box.

The jurors in the trial about the late Brooke Astor's estate continue to offer glimpses of what the six-month (!!!) marathon was like. They found Astor's 85-year-old son Anthony Marshall guilty of grand larceny—and the decision was not taken lightly. The jury forewoman Kristina Jezycki told the Daily News, "It's difficult to have a World War II veteran in this position. I have always respected my elders, so I find it very difficult to handle."

Some of the jurors who endured the 19-week-long trial surrounding the late Brooke Astor's estate explained their decision to find Astor's 85-year-old son guilty of grand larceny. Yvonne Fernandez, 52, said of Anthony Marshall, whom prosecutors said was driven to loot his mother's fortune for his wife Charlene, "It sort of reminded me, when I was in Brooklyn years ago and there was a blackout, and the lower-income people were stealing refrigerators and TVs, and they felt that was due to them," adding, "We all have our flaws, and you know, of course, the flaw here was greed."

">Post reports the Teflon Don's son shouted to John Alite during a break, "You’re a dog! You’re a dog! Did I kill little girls, you fag? You’re a punk. You’re a dog all your life — you always were. Do I strangle little girls in motels?"

Given that these jurors have had to sit through five months of testimony in the trial involving Brooke Astor's fortune, is it any wonder that nerves are seriously frayed? On Monday, the jury sent the judge a note, "Due to heated argument, a juror feels personally threatened by comments made by another juror... With regards to her personal safety, she wishes to be dismissed anonymously," and then later that day, one juror was seen "sobbing."

Back in 2007, police arrested a man accused of brutally beating and mugging a 101-year-old woman and then an 85-year-old woman, but a 2008 trial ended in mistrial because the jury forewoman had some work/travel issues. Now, a second trial jury is deliberating the case again, after hearing from the prosecutors, who say Jack Rhodes was identified by witnesses, and Rhodes' lawyer who claims his client is being set up. Centenarian victim Rose Morat had taped her testimony early last year in case she couldn't make it to trial, but she's now 103!

At first, the trial over Brooke Astor's estate was an exciting glimpse into society; months later, it's just boring. The NY Times reports that jury deliberations are forcing the defendants (including Astor's son Anthony Marshall) and lawyers to kill time: "Mr. Marshall, 85, has been alternating between reading French literature by the likes of Honoré de Balzac and dozing off on the bench. At one point last week, Mr. Marshall lay asleep on a wooden bench in the hallway outside the courtroom with a newspaper over his face." And a defense lawyer said, "Thank God for Wi-Fi."

An East New York mugging case that was a step away from a verdict had to be tossed when someone inside the Brooklyn courthouse recognized the jury's foreman and the defendant as old friends. The 20-year-old foreman, Rashawn Davis, apparently known as "Black," never revealed that he used to hang out with Corey Hinds, who goes as "Big Man." The Post says Davis goes by "Raymond Williams" and now may face perjury charges.

Should we sorry for these twelve people who are performing their civic duty? The Daily News reports on the twelve men and women who were selected to serve on the fourth racketeering trial for John Gotti Jr. —four women, eight men (five are black, the rest are white) who work for the USPS, a high school, and the clerk's office at NY Criminal Court. Not selected was a man who said he was warned "you'll get a bullet in the head" if he voted to convict Gotti. Federal Judge Kevin Castel was amused by one potential juror's response to the question, "How far did you go in school?"—he said, "To which the response was Buffalo."

John Gotti Jr., scion of the Gambino crime family and its alleged leaders, decided to greet potential jurors to his racketeering trial, "Good morning, I am John Gotti. Here I am again." It was a reference to how this is his fourth trial (the other three times ended in hung juries); the NY Post reports that while "Manhattan federal Judge P. Kevin Castel said that while Gotti's remark was 'undoubtedly innocent and made in the utmost of good faith,' it amounted to 'improper argument.'" Castel added it could have been misconduct. Of course, it might be a long jury selection process—many people are apparently afraid of the Teflon Don's son and associates—but Gotti is ready, with his "scholarly" glasses and note-taking.

Yesterday, a federal judge called a mistrial in a liability lawsuit, because the jurors were fighting! The case, heard at the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, centered around accusations that Merck's Fosamax causes severe dental and jaw problems. Juror Theresa Ciccone had decided against Merck; she tells the Post, "There were e-mails that Merck knew about these effects since 1999 and they weren't putting any warnings on the drugs. On the first day of deliberations, [the other jurors] were sure Merck was right. To them, Merck was gold. Merck was God." After more than a week of deliberating, Ciccone stuck to her guns and then one threw a chair, but she isn't mad at him, "He was one of the more reasonable guys. He was a young father who was afraid to lose his business because it was taking so long." Still, a female juror said to her, "Oh, I'm going to punch you in the head." Ciccone says one juror didn't even read the evidence, while the other jurors said she was holding things up because she didn't understand the evidence. The jury's forewoman told the Daily News, "All hell broke loose. There was a lot of verbal abuse. People calling each other stupid and crazy. It was childish. ... I don't want to do jury duty for at least another 20 years." You can see the letters from the jurors here.

A federal judge John F. Keenan declared a mistrial in a case investigating whether Merck & Co.'s osteoporosis drug called Fosamax causes severe dental and jaw problems. Why? Well, the AP reports, "Deliberations deteriorated to the point that lawyers waiting in the courtroom could hear screaming coming from the jury room and one female juror said another juror threw a chair at her." The trial had been going on for a month in Manhattan and the higher-ups of the drug industry as well as liability lawyers have been keeping a watchful eye on the trial, as it's the first of nearly 900 state and federal cases against the company.

Since he told jurors—way back in late March— that the trial over Brooke Astor's will would take 8-10 weeks, Justice Kirke Bartley Jr. had to apologize to jurors last month for the trial's slow pace: So far, the case has gone on for 17 weeks—and the prosecution is only wrapping up today! Bartley even had to cancel his own vacation, according to the NY Times. Prosecutors contend Astor's son and a lawyer plotted to take more of her estate while she was ailing and NYU law professor Stephen Gillers explains, "This is not a smoking-gun case, this is not an eyewitness case. This is a circumstantial case. The challenge is enormous to show a woman’s state of mind five and a half years ago when she’s no longer here." But defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman points out, "It would appear to me that the case is being overtried by the district attorney’s office. The question of competence does not necessarily, in my view, require the testimony of every human being who came into contact with Brooke Astor in the latter years of her life." You know, if the trial wrapped up faster, maybe the jury forewoman wouldn't have been attacked on the subway!

We knew that being on a jury for the Astor trial was hard work, considering that it's been going on for months (jury selection was back in March-April!!), there have been tons of witnesses (apparently 14,000 transcription pages worth) and Astor's son and co-defendant, Anthony Marshall, has had many health issues. But now we find out it can even be dangerous work: The jury's forewoman was headed home from court when she was attacked by a knife-wielding stranger on an uptown 4 train!

Earlier this year, the current and former owners of a Bronx apartment building whose tenants illegally subdivided their apartments and essentially created a maze that killed two firefighters in 2005, were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. Now defense lawyers are trying to throw out the conviction, because one of the jurors contacted one of the witnesses. Newsday reports, "The social networking site Facebook took center stage in a Bronx courtroom Friday with the unsealing of gushing e-mails from a juror" to firefighter Brendan Cawley, who had testified. Apparently Karen Krell unsuccessfully tried to contact Cawley via Facebook during the trial; she continued to message him—"I'm awed at what you and the others went through, and what you yourself still continue to go through"— until he responded. She wrote, post-trial, to her fellow jurors, "So I finally found Brendon on facebook and we wrote some letters to each other (just about the trial, nothing else!! =( ...LOL)." A defendant's lawyer said, "You're entitled to 12, not 11 unbiased witnesses."

Jury room debates in the fraud trial of a lawyer for commodities broker Refco have gotten so heated that a court officer has had to order jurors to lower their voices. And yesterday, after six days of deliberations, juror No. 4, identified only as "Kevin," sent a letter to the judge explaining that the "frequent insults" he's endured from Juror No. 9, Abigail O'Connell, had risen to a "whole new level. Specifically, in a loud and belligerent manner Juror O'Connell threatened to cut off my finger. She made that statement twice. In the same tirade she stated, 'I will have my husband take care of you.'" Kevin told the foreman that the "threats and intimidation" would not change his vote, but he's worried that "hearing these threats may affect other jurors." The foreman, however, says, "the altercation [Wednesday] could be traced to both parties involved." Judge Robert Patterson denied the defense a mistrial and ordered deliberations to continue; Refco's former attorney Joseph Collins is accused of helping hide the company's bad debts.

Just a little over three weeks after the Imette St. Guillen trial began, it is now in the hands of jurors who will decide the fate of Darryl Littlejohn for sexually assaulting and murdering the graduate student from Boston. In closing arguments yesterday, Littlejohn's defense lawyer Joyce David accused police of a conspiracy to protect his boss, bar manager Danny Dorrian, whose brother-in-law was an adviser to Rudy Giuliani. David said, "Darryl Littlejohn was the solution to all their problems: solving the city's biggest crime at the time, protecting Danny Dorrian and protecting Rudy Giuliani from another scandal while he was running for President." David said St. Guillen and Dorrian could have had "a weird bondage thing." Prosecutor Kenneth Taub responded to the vague allegations by calling them "the rankest kind of speculation" and said there is "a mountain of evidence" against Littlejohn. Update: After six hours of deliberation, the jury has found Littlejohn guilty of rape and first-degree murder.

Yesterday, defense lawyers for Darryl Littlejohn, a bar bouncer accused of murdering a John Jay College student in 2006, rested their case. Yesterday, those lawyers put two police detectives on the stand: One said that while numerous items were taken from Littlejohn's Queens apartment, none "were ever linked to [murder victim Imette] St. Guillen and DNA testing failed to yield a match," while the other said that few items from the bar where Littlejohn worked— and where St. Guillen was last scene—were taken as evidence. Littlejohn's defense has suggested that the police should have paid more attention to bar owner Danny Dorrian. Littlejohn has already been convicted and sentenced to 25 years in the kidnapping of a Queens woman in 2005; he is also suspected in a kidnapping and rape that is very similar to St. Guillen's attack. Closing arguments are expected today and the jury will likely get the case shortly afterward.

Three years after the murder of Imette St.Guillen, jury selection was supposed to have started yesterday in the trial of suspect Darryl Littlejohn. Littlejohn, an ex-con, was a bouncer at the bar St. Guillen was last seen at. However, selection was delayed until next month because of issues with the DNA evidence prosecutors say links Littlejohn to the crime. Last week, the Daily News reported that Littlejohn's mother's hair was found on the blanket that the John Jay College grad student was wrapped in, but then the News reported yesterday that the DNA of Littlejohn's brother—who died in 1994—may have found on the blanket, which was not made until 1998. Littlejohn's defense lawyer suggests the evidence was tampered, "The evidence itself, the plastic ties, the quilt, the snow brush, were moved from lab to lab. They were transported by detectives involved in the case. At any point in time the evidence could have been tampered with," a claim the police deny. Additionally, the defense also says the police never took voice samples of bar owner Dan Dorrian "to compare it to that of an anonymous 911 call Feb. 25, 2006, directing police to the location of St. Guillen's body."

As the NY Times reports, the case of Brooke Astor's son, Anthony Marshall, is "less than halfway through a painstakingly long jury selection process, made especially difficult by the fact that the trial is expected to last two to three month." Marshall, 82, is accused of trying to steal his ailing mother's estate, a charge that rocked high society. Potential jurors are asked if they know who Brooke Astor is, as well as their opinions of the wealthy (the Daily News notes, "Do you have a problem with rich people? If you do, you may be able to get out of serving as a juror") and whether they have wills. Marshall's attorney is "concerned" about the many articles written about the case and hopes jurors can "separate what they have read from the evidence." The Post witnessed one person outside the courthouse yell at Marshall, "Hey, that was his mother's money! That was his mother's money!"

The judge presiding over the trial of legendary philanthropist Brooke Astor's son told potential jurors to go off the grid if they are selected. Supreme Justice Kirke Bartley said, "I understand there is a temptation to review [news] stories. You are not to conduct research...particularly on the Internet... Blogging, BlackBerrys, whatever," are not allowed. The lawyer for Anthony Marshall, who is accused of conspiring to take millions from his ailing mother's estate, said, "There have been reports from all over about jurors Twittering and blogging." In the meantime, the 82-year-old defendant was using a cane: "I’m a little wobbly, that’s why I’ve got the cane. Sometimes I can get around without it, but when I do something like this, I really need a cane.”

We cannot the verdict.) While the appeal is up in the air, we applaud Johnathan's interest in his civic duty, "trying to learn about jury duty for tomorrow, but all searches lead me to suggestions for getting out of it, instead of rocking it."

The jury deliberating the fate of Lillo Brancato Jr. told the judge they were deadlocked yesterday. The jury said, via a note, that their vote was 11 to 1; NY1 reports, "The judge re-read instructions on deliberation to the divided jury and advised the jurors to come back at 9:30 a.m. Friday to continue deliberating." Brancato faces murder charges for the 2005 shooting of off-duty police officer Daniel Enchautegui. Earlier yesterday, a juror was replaced—according to the Daily News, Marvin Gittens ignored the judge's directions and "took notes throughout the trial and researched the case on the internet." Another juror told the judge about Gittens' behavior. This the second juror to be replaced; two weeks ago, one left because he was arrested for "allegedly punching his teen-age stepson in the face."