Attorneys in Stevens’ Trial Called Back to Court Over Jury Questions

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The jury in the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens sent three more notes to Judge Emmet Sullivan today, one of which specifically asked the judge to “please clarify the liability cost as it is not readily clear in Senate regulations,” The Hill reports.

After receiving the notes, Sullivan sent the jurors to lunch early and asked attorneys from the case to return to court this afternoon for a bench conference to discuss how to instruct the jury.

From The Hill:

Sullivan proposed telling the jurors that the financial disclosure forms require “the filer to disclose the amount of liabilities in excess of $10,000 that were owed by the filer in any point in time during the calendar year.”
But Robert Cary, Stevens’s defense lawyer, called the statement an “oversimplification” and asked to give the jurors a more elaborate explanation.

Today is only the first full day of deliberations for the jury, who were given instructions yesterday morning.

Late update: It looks like one of the jurors may be dismissed for “disruptive, rude and violent” behavior, the AP reports. We’ll keep you updated as we hear more.

Late update. . . 2:33 pm: More details are emerging on the “violent” juror. The Hill describes her as a “middle-aged. . bookkeeper for the D.C. National Guard.” According to Politico, one of the jury’s notes to Sullivan says the woman “has had violent outbursts with other jurors and that’s not helping anyone. She is not following the laws and rules that were stipulated.”

Late update. . . 2:56pm: After discussing with attorneys from both sides, it doesn’t look like the “violent” juror won’t be going anywhere.

From the AP:

Worried about disrupting the process, Sullivan opted not to remove the woman. He spoke with jurors, told them how important their job was, urged them to be civil and sent them back to continue deliberating.

Late update. . .6:29pm: The Washington Post has a copy of the note sent from the jury to Sullivan requestion that juror #9 be removed. Read it here.

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