Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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.

13 comments:

  1. I wonder if Doron Weinberg is on the payroll so to speak as he sits around in San Mateo.

    Well ,there goes all those donations to Ayres legal defense right into the wallet of Doron!

    Does it even buy him a grilled cheese sandwich.....

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  2. This doesn't sound bad at all.

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  3. Vedddy, veddy intadesting...as always.
    Thank you, "we"!

    Am I the only one who wonders if Weinberg's tomato-red color is due to something other than UV rays?

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  4. The tomato red color,

    like what huffing red paint or something?

    like he got color-printed at the make-up counter and they screwed up?

    is he a fall color or summer color?

    What do you mean, maybe I am dumb....lmao

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  5. A really red face all the time can be indicative of high blood pressure, or an allergy to a medication, or sulfites.

    Then again, a really red face is often the unconscious speaking when the conscious thinks it's in control. As I recall, you said after the prosecutor made a remark he then turned beet red.

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  6. These kind of observations, of course, mean nothing--except to anyone with any percieved stake in the outcome of any penidng jury trial, peering hopelesly at juror interactons in aid of making sense of it all...

    "Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby /p/ Awaiting a word /p/ ...Wordlessly watching, he waits by the window
    And wonders at the empty place inside...Stand by the stairway, you'll see something
    Certain to tell you confusion has its cost..."

    Yes, jury watching is a foools gme, but what else can those of us dependant on the outcome do but (in Stephen Still's words) "wordelessly watch".

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  7. The new African American juror looks like she has a quiet strength. She also appears to be very no-nonsense. I don't think she would take guff from anyone. My bet is that she goes with the prosecution.

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  8. Thanks for the words today. I was surprised that another juror had been replaced. I have to admit that I am now confused as to how many have been used and how many are left. This court has been so very different in so many ways, are we dwindling down to a precious few alternates left? This jury watch was interesting
    today. Almost a comfort of sorts.
    I am a people watcher from way back and this lot has been really fun to learn about through the eyes of the bloggers. I am still praying for a fair and just verdict. That would be GUILTY of course. Stay strong.

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  9. Weinberg's face is as devil-red as Ayres' is in that photo.

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  10. There are two alternates left. Other juries like the Scott Peterson murder case have also experienced juror loss during deliberations. It happens.

    I wouldn't worry at this point. The jury is beginning to look solid.

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  11. Ayres is indeed paying Weinberg to hang around the courthouse until the verdict is announced. I am praying that at the end of this Ayres will end up both broke and in jail.

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  12. From the County Times reporter today:

    San Mateo Superior Court Judge Beth Freeman excused a female juror who had called in sick Tuesday and did not want to go to court Wednesday because she had a 101-degree fever and was concerned about making a pregnant juror ill, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

    ____

    I hopw the pregnant juror does drop out.

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  13. Is it OK for the defense attorney to be following the jury around on their lunch? Won't his presence there cause some undue influence? Isn't that something that Wineberg could get in rouble for?

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