Blagojevich Trial 2010

It is unlikely that the Sam Adam team will defend Blagojevich in a retrial.  The current trial emptied the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund, which was paying for the ex-governor’s defense.  The federal public defender’s office will now pick up the tab for a retrial.  The 15-member Blagojevich defense team has been paid at public [...]

Hung on all but one count.  After a trial that lasted more than six weeks followed by 14 days of jury deliberations, ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich is found guilty of just one of the 24 counts against him.  The jury unanimously agreed that Blagojevich was guilty of the final count in the indictment, count 24, giving [...]

Blagojevich and Patti just entered the courtroom.  “Say a prayer for us,” he told waiting reporters.  Robert is here, too.  Is it a verdict?  Most likely.  But no guarantee.

The jury had two questions for Judge Zagel, neither of which sounded promising for the prosecution.  The jurors requested a copy of the oath they took when they were sworn in as jurors.  The judge gave the jurors that oath, which reads in part, “each of you do solemnly swear to truly try to render [...]

The jury has a new question on the 14th day of jury deliberations.  Reporters clustered on the 35th floor outside Judge Zagel’s courtroom are delighted to hear there will be some action today. Stay tuned – we should hear the judge read the contents of the note shortly.

The jury has now gotten the complete transcript of former Deputy Governor Bradley Tusk’s testimony.  They also have jury instructions telling them they should not rely on the transcript alone to decide whether the testimony of the witness is “accurate in whole or in part.” Now the question is, why did they want the Tusk [...]

The jury has come up with a new question on the 13th day of deliberations.  The jury requested the “testimony of Bradley Tusk in its entirety.”  Judge Zagel initially agreed, but Blagojevich lawyer Sheldon Sorosky objected.  Zagel then agreed to review the jury instruction he was prepared to issue. Bradley Tusk, Blagojevich’s deputy governor in [...]

No word from the jury as deliberations continue.  That means the action in this story returns to the Federal Building cafeteria. Rod and Patti Blagojevich and their attorneys, minus the Adams, huddle at one end of the cafeteria.  The only plug I could find for my phone charger was next to their table (honest), so Rod [...]

In a note the jury told the judge it has reached agreement on only two counts.  It has been unable to reach unanimous agreement on any of the other counts.  The jury told the judge it has deliberated on all counts and acts, with the exception of the wire fraud counts.  There are 11 wire [...]

Nerves are shot.  No one is getting any sleep.  And the wait for the verdict continues. Blago lawyer Elliott Riebman made a 3:00am Starbucks run after giving up on trying to sleep.  The betting on the 25th floor of the Federal Building outside Judge Zagel’s courtroom is that there will be a verdict today.  Robert [...]

No verdict.  The jury sent Judge Zagel a note asking what to do in a situation when a unanimous decision can’t be reached.  Lawyers agreed with the judge’s instruction, which first asked jurors to clarify if they had considered all counts and could not reach a verdict.  If not, Zagel asked jurors to reconsider all [...]