Monday, March 27, 2006

Ex-Gov. Ryan objects to substitution of jurors

From ABC 7 Chicago:

The two jurors said on questionnaires before the start of the five- and- a- half month trial that they had never been charged with, or accused of a crime. However, public records have since shown that one of the jurors was convicted of drunk driving in the mind 90s and the second juror has a history of drug-related arrests, although she was never convicted.

Two of the alternates on the Ryan-Warner jury were seen entering the Dirksen Federal Building Monday morning. It is not clear if they will be seated on the jury.

Here is the former Illinois' governor statement:

Defendant George H. Ryan, Sr., by and through his attorneys, respectfully objects to the substitution of alternate jurors in the event the Court finds that one or more jurors are unable to perform or are disqualified from performing their duties. The substitution of alternates at this stage of deliberations would violate Ryan's Sixth Amendment right to trial by a fair and impartial jury, would therefore constitute an abuse of the Court's discretion under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure ("Rule") 24(c)(3). That Rule has never been, nor was it ever intended to be, employed under circumstances such as those present here, where jurors have had the case under deliberation for two and a half weeks, during which time there have been numerous notes, questions, and indications of deadlock, all against the backdrop of pervasive media attention. Even if an alternate juror were able to avoid the substantial press and publicity surrounding deliberations, it is simply not possible or reasonable to expect that he or she could engage in meaningful, constitutionally required deliberations with jurors who have already spent two and a half weeks deliberating the case in detail."

My take? Ryan and his lawyers are bluffing.

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