 Judge James Zagel issued his ruling in what has been seen as the
last trial to grow out of a decade-long investigation of ex-Gov. Rod
Blagojevich.The ruling comes after jurors convicted the
Springfield Republican of conspiring to shake down the Oscar-winning
producer of "Million Dollar Baby" for a contribution to
Blagojevich's campaign.
Defense attorneys had demanded a retrial, citing post-trial
revelations that one juror lied about her criminal history and
thereby denied Cellini a fair trial. It wasn't discovered that she
apparently had lied until after the trial ended in November.
But prosecutors had argued there was no proof she was biased or
performed her juror's duties poorly, despite any lies. In such
cases, judges are normally reluctant to overturn verdicts and
usually want clear evidence a juror's behavior directly affected the
trial's outcome.
Defense attorney Dan Webb argued in a hearing last week that the
juror's lies created a built-in bias against his 77-year-old client,
telling Zagel it would be wrong to allow a verdict to stand when
someone so flawed sat in judgment of Cellini.
"We can't be saying in this country that if a juror deliberately
lies, that ... unless I can show actual bias, that I can't get a new
trial," he said.
A prosecutor countered that whether the juror lied or not,
there's no proof she was biased against Cellini or that she skewed
the jury's eventual finding that he conspired to extort a Hollywood
producer for a contribution to Blagojevich's campaign.
Prosecutor Chris Niewoehner also argued that proceedings
shouldn't be dragged out so long after jurors rendered what he said
was a proper verdict.
"There is a strong (public) interest in finality here," he said.
"This was a fair trial."
Cellini, once known as the King of Clout in Illinois for the
influence he wielded in the corridors of state power, has attended
hearings on the case in Chicago. The multimillionaire businessman
appeared relaxed but engaged last week as the sides delivered their
arguments.
[to top of second column]
 |
During a contentious evidentiary hearing earlier this month, the
juror, Candy Chiles, bristled under tough questioning by Webb.
"I'm not under trial," she snapped. "I haven't did anything
wrong."
At one point, she stormed from the room yelling, "Leave me
alone!"
Chiles admitted she gave inaccurate answers during jury selection
when she said she didn't have any convictions. She had pleaded
guilty in the 1990s to felony drug possession charges and in 2008 to
felony aggravated DUI.
At that hearing, she offered scant explanation for why she didn't
reveal her convictions.
In a filing last week, the defense said Chiles "lied because she
could not care less about the integrity of the justice system."
But Niewoehner said Friday it's unclear she lied deliberately,
saying Cellini's attorneys were holding her to too high a standard.
"They're demanding she act like a lawyer, think like a lawyer,
speak like a lawyer," he said. "She's not a precise person, that's
clear."
He added there were no reports that Chiles ever acted
inappropriately in any way during the trial itself or during
deliberations.
Cellini faces up to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to commit
extortion and aiding in the solicitation of a bribe.
[Associated Press;
By MICHAEL TARM]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
 |
