NY judge says he’ll ask Brooke Astor case jurors if they’ve reached agreement on any count

NY judge to ask Astor jury for partial verdict

NEW YORK — A judge said Thursday he would ask jurors whether they have reached a partial verdict in the criminal trial surrounding New York philanthropist Brooke Astor’s fortune.

Judge A. Kirke Bartley’s decision came in the 11th full day of deliberations in the case against Astor’s son, Anthony Marshall, and estate lawyer Francis Morrissey. They deny looting her nearly $200 million fortune.

Bartley agreed to defense lawyers’ request that he emphasize to jurors that they are not required to reach a verdict on any of the 18 counts in the case.

“I am sensitive to the concerns of the defense that in any way my question has any sort of coercieve effect,” Bartley said. “I don’t want the jury to conclude that I feel they should have reached a verdict by this time.”

Prosecutors say Marshall stole from his disoriented mother during her life, and he and Morrissey induced her to change her will to leave her son millions of dollars long destined for charity. Marshall, 85, faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted; Morrissey, 66, faces up to seven years.

Defense lawyers say Marshall had legal authority to give himself gifts with his mother’s money, and she knew what she was doing when she changed her will.

Astor was suffering from Alzheimer’s when she died in 2007 at 105.

Jurors weighing the complex case have focused on, among other things, Astor’s tax records and Marshall’s salary and power-of-attorney arrangement for managing her financial affairs.

Astor was known for decades as the grande dame of New York society and gave millions to institutions such as the New York Public Library, Carnegie Hall and other causes.

It’s unusual, but not unheard of, for judges to ask whether a jury has reached a partial verdict. State appellate courts have upheld judges’ ability to do so.