Jurors in ex.-Gov. Blagojevich’s trial ask judge how to mark verdict form if they can’t agree
By APTuesday, August 17, 2010
Blagojevich jurors ask for advice on verdict form
CHICAGO — Jurors deliberating in the corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked the presiding judge Tuesday how they should mark the verdict form if they can’t reach a decision on a count. They also asked for a copy of the oath they took before deliberating.
Judge James B. Zagel said in his response that they shouldn’t mark the form if they haven’t been able to reach an agreement but should write a statement saying that they couldn’t agree. He also said he will provide a copy of the oath.
Zagel also said that the defendants, Blagojevich and his brother, should be only a half-hour away from the court this week because of the possibility of a verdict within several days.
Tuesday was the 14th day of deliberations. Jurors had asked a day earlier for transcripts of the testimony from former deputy governor Bradley Tusk and Zagel agreed to hand it over to them.
Tusk had testified that Blagojevich planned to hold up a $2 million grant to a school in then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel’s district until his Hollywood-agent brother, Ari, held a fundraiser.
He testified that he ignored a Blagojevich directive to deliver the message to Emanuel, saying he thought the plan was “illegal and unethical.”
Some trial observers saw the request for that testimony as a more hopeful sign for prosecutors. Notes toward the end of last week, though, seemed to offer the defense reason for optimism.
The jury had advised Zagel last Thursday signaling they were stuck on many of the 24 counts against Blagojevich and had agreed on only two. Zagel told them to deliberate further on 11 wire fraud counts that they had not considered.
Many observers took that note as a potentially positive development for the defense — a sign that jurors may, at the very least, were struggling to agree.
Blagojevich, 53, has pleaded not guilty to all 24 counts, including charges he tried to sell or trade Obama’s old Senate seat for a high-paying job or campaign cash. His 54-year-old brother, Robert Blagojevich, a Nashville, Tenn., businessman, faces four counts and also pleaded not guilty.
