Feb 26 2007
Libby Trial Loses One Juror
It seems the jury on the Libby trial has lost one of its most independent members. On Valentine’s Day the jury came in and displayed a strange message to the court by all wearing red shirts and wishing everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day – with one notable exception. That same juror who defied the strange behavior of the jury (which seemed to me at the time to be showboating a bit) has now admitted she came into contact with news media reporting about the case and has been disqualified:
One juror was dismissed from the perjury trial of former vice presidential aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby on Monday after she told the judge she had been exposed to information about the case outside of court.
It seems Team Libby supported the move to continue on one juror down, but I am wondering if that is the best move here. In any event, Walton’s impatience has won out over due process (again) and we will limp along with 11 jurors. The biggest question is how the court learned of this. Initially there were a number of jurors involved, but only one in the end seemed to be exposed to the media circus (and I agree with Walton this is one case crying out for the media not to pollute the process any more than they have already).
It is possible this juror, who could harbor a very liberal bent, came into deliberations and started polluting the discussions with reports she had seen over the weekend. That would be the most obvious way it became known to the Judge, other jurors turned her in for violating the rules. And it would explain the sides Fitz and Team Libby took with regards to the path forward. If the woman did share some liberal media bias with others, then that would create a backlash against arguments based on liberal media bias.
It may come out in the end, but clearly one of the jury’s more independent members just got the boot. If a verdict soon follows then it will be clear a barrier might have been removed and the results tainted for one side. Be sure to follow the plamiac debate on this latest news over at Just One Minute.
I think the longer the deliberations go on the worse that is for the defense. If you can’t see whats going on here by now, you are probably either dumb as a post or you are trying to convince yourself and each other that you are not really railroading an innocent man based on your political persuasions. It is probably a positive that this woman was dismissed simply because Fitzhead seemed to be upset about it. I think the best Libby can hope for is a hung jury, but what I think they will probably do is split the difference and only find him guilty on one or two counts. If they are all liberals, they will probably find him guilty on all counts. Law doesn’t mean anything to those people. Party means everything to them and conservatives are naturally guilty of anything. I sure hope I’m wrong, but I’ve seen way too many renegade courts lately and it seems to be getting worse. Even worse than that is the way we are sitting still for it.
AJ, the first alternate juror’s body language indicated a strong affinity for Fitz, including grimaces and folded arms during the defense presentation and all smiles for Fitz. So, Wells may have judged the alternate to be the greater evil than going with 11 jurors, which is okay on Federal Rules of Evidence. The body language of the prosecution and defense during this brouhaha tells me that the defense feels pretty good about the deliberations. I never thought they’d get any guilty verdicts but I have thought that a hung jury on at least one count could happen.
Due process:A constitutional concept (Fourteenth Amendment) that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without legal protection in the form of being present at a hearing, having the opportunity to be heard, being represented by counsel and having the opportunity to present evidence.
Since Libby and his lawyers agreed to proceeding with 11 jurors, AJ, please explain what tortured definition of due process is being violated.
Wouldn’t it be great if an acquittal came out today? It would point to this one juror being the lone holdout… harder to claim a problem with the jury by Chrissy and Fitzy…and all their leftie commrades.