Another Shakeup in Jury Deliberations

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

This report was compiled by several of our correspondents in the field.

We can confirm that the new juror is a young African American woman. She was sworn in at 9:40 am with the prosecutor and Doron Weinberg in attendance. She is the only African American on the jury. We believe she is a rehabilitation therapist. Word is that she is very pragmatic.

She replaced Juror Number 6- the extremely quiet female Asian juror who sat a little apart from everyone on the back row. We believe she was a nurse. According to our sources, Juror Six was the most quiet juror of the bunch and did not voice any strong opinions either way. We feel that her removal is kind of a wash.

Today, a little after noon, the jurors, walking in a long line behind Dave the Bailiff and looking a tad self-conscious, arrived at the outdoor seating spot in front of the Old Courthouse. They congregated mostly at shady tables by that kiosk that sells fruit drinks and sandwiches and salads. ( We don't recommend eating there by the way, because their service is maddeningly slow. One day it took us twenty-five minutes to get a grilled cheese sandwich.)

The jurors ate their sandwiches that had been delivered to the courthouse earlier in the morning.

We thought the jurors all appeared to be in good spirits. Our correspondents detected a new fluidity among the members of the jury. Many jurors who were having conversations with one person on the way to lunch surprised us by walking and talking with a completely different person after lunch.

At lunch, the foreman - in his ubiquitous shorts- was sitting at a table with the older man with the one black lens in his glasses and with the no-nonsense looking blondish nurse who appears to be somewhere in her forties. We hadn't seen that seating configuration before. Additionally, the redheaded woman juror was sitting with two of three young women - the lawyer and the nailpicker, whom we have heard is pregnant. They were all in good spirits. On Monday, this same redheaded woman sat with the foreman, so this arrangement is also new.

The new young male juror who was sworn in last Friday was sitting with Dave the Bailiff at a table out in the sun. The new male juror was very energetic and animated and was telling what looked to be a good story, with lots of hand gestures. It was good to see Bailiff Dave looking amused and relaxed as he listened.

The other young woman juror with the long wavy hair was sitting with the new African American juror. We weren't too happy to see this, but cheered up when we saw the foreman sidle up to the newest juror after lunch and walk back with her to the courthouse. They seemed to be having a good conversation.

The one juror we didn't see was the man with the grayish hair with the wire-rim glasses. Last time we saw him he was looking very tense - as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Today, just before they all headed back to the courthouse, the foreman and the redheaded woman ( whom we have reason to believe are both pro prosecution) were having a long conversation standing up by the food kiosk. We wondered if these two today had subconsciously tried to make inroads with the alleged anti-prosecution faction - the three young women -- by having the red headed woman eat with two of the young women. Or it could be that the redheaded woman is just a very friendly and gregarious type. We understand that she was the juror who got the idea to make up a list for all the jurors of their names and phone numbers .

We do know that the redheaded woman has a grown son who may be about the same age as some of the in statute victims.

After seeing one of the young girls having lunch with the African American juror and then seeing the reportedly pro prosecution foreman walk with her back to the courthouse after lunch, we wondered if both the pro-prosecution and anti- prosecution types are trying to court the new young black juror. Or, perhaps she has a mind of her own and knows where she stands already. If so, we of course, hoping she's on our side.

Finally, as the jurors had headed back to the courthouse, who should swoop in to the very area where they had been sitting but Berkeley's own Doron Weinberg, looking more lobster red than ever. Perhaps he was trying to sniff out out any possible vibes the jurors had left in their wake.

Update:

One of our correspondents spotted a few of the jurors leaving at 4:35 pm. They reported seeing the foreman walking towards his car in a very determined and dogged and charge-ahead fashion. Apparently he caught up to the redheaded woman and the older nurse and they all chatted amiably. Our correspondent reported that it seemed to him that the foreman and the older, more mature jurors seemed to be coalescing together and gathering strength, while the young women jurors seemed to be losing some of their power.

Stay tuned.