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Judge in Dixon theft trial denies defense motion for mistrial. Jurors asking for transcripts of Turner testimony….

November 25, 2009 at 1:19 pm 0

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Juror note sent out today. (Click to enlarge)
Juror note sent out today. (Click to enlarge)

   

by MELODY SIMMONS
 
    The judge in the theft trial of Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon this morning denied a defense motion for mistrial. Defense attorney Dale P. Kelberman had argued that their client cannot get a fair trial because some evidence has been excluded and the jurors are having difficulty sorting through which evidence they could consider.
     “It’s an impossible task asking them to ignore testimony,” said defense attorney Dale P. Kelberman. “We’re asking them to be Talmudic scholars.”

      Kelberman cited a note submitted by one of the jurors on Monday asking  about the spreadsheet put together in 2006 by one of Dixon’s assistants to show which constituents had called and asked for gift cards. Was this item something they could consider, the juror wanted to know? (The answer had been “yes.”)
      As for Kelberman’s argument that the note was evidence that the  jurors were mired in confusion, Judge Dennis Sweeney wasn’t buying it.  “The jury has not shown any confusion,” he said, denying the motion for mistrial.

     Two of the counts against Dixon, those pertaining to Dixon’s developer-boyfriend Ronald Lipscomb, were dismissed during the trial, which meant the judge had to instruct the jurors to ignore evidence and testimony pertaining to those charges.

      During discussion of the mistrial motion, the jurors sent out a note asking to see a transcript of testimony from some of the remaining witnesses: developer Patrick Turner and two city employees who received gift cards from the mayor: Edward Anthony and Mary Pat Fannon.

     Sweeney and the lawyers for both sides are back in open court discussing this request now. Kelberman has argued that the latest note proves his earlier point, that jurors are confused. The fact that the deliberations have stretched into a fifth day, he said, is further evidence jurors are struggling. He also said the fact that Thanksgiving is tomorrow could put undue pressure on them to conclude deliberations and reach a verdict.

    UPDATE: Sweeney ruled that the jurors could review the testimony and now they are looking at video from the trial. . . .

 

 

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