In spite of a juror's claims of being intimidated by other jurors, a judge ruled that the verdict finding Anthony Marshall guilty of looting his late mother Brooke Astor's estate can stand. Supreme Court Justice Kirke Bartley wrote in his decision, "[Judith] DeMarco's claims concerning Ms. (Yvonne) Fernandez's behavior, which according the eleven other jurors were exaggerated, are indicative only of a 'spirited dispute' which was promptly resolved."
DeMarco, a legal analyst for Bloomberg News, claimed that deliberation got so heated that fellow juror Fernandez flashed gang signs at her (Fernandez had earlier said she once dated a member of the Latin Kings). However, Fernandez, who says she and DeMarco had become close during the long trial and that she apologized after their spat, said she only raised her voice because DeMarco said, "The judge's instructions don't do it for me." She told the Post earlier this year, "She said it twice. I was so shocked I wrote it down in my pad. 'The judge's instructions don't do it for me.' I shouted, 'How in the world can we deliberate if the judge's instructions don't do it for you?'"
Marshall, 86, is still out on bail; his lawyers are reviewing the decision and may continue their appeal.
