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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJury Has Sent Out Note To Judge In Paul Manafort Trial
from Talking Points Memo:
Just in:
ALEXANDRIA, VA The jury in the Paul Manafort trial sent out a note to Judge T.S. Ellis Thursday afternoon. Its unclear what the note says.
Lawyers and reporters hurried to the courtroom here as word emerged that the jury had sent out a message.
The jury is deliberating on the bank and tax fraud charges Manafort, President Trumps former campaign manager, faces. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/jury-submits-note-to-court-in-paul-manafort-trial
manor321
(3,344 posts)Do juries do this when they have reached a verdict or only if they have questions?
Vinca
(50,273 posts)ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)Uh oh!
Sneederbunk
(14,291 posts)spooky3
(34,455 posts)blaze
(6,362 posts)Link to tweet
Manafort jury has four questions, will continue deliberations tomorrow.
3:12 PM - 16 Aug 2018
Mrs. Overall
(6,839 posts)blaze
(6,362 posts)Link to tweet
Paul Manafort's jurors asked if the judge could "redefine" for them "reasonable doubt."
They also asked two questions related to Manafort's tax filing and foreign bank account disclosure charges.
Response to blaze (Reply #9)
PoliticAverse This message was self-deleted by its author.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)janx
(24,128 posts)Don't think it's because of the reasonable doubt question though.
fallout87
(819 posts)they wouldn't be asking those questions. I remember this from the two times I served on a jury.
KPN
(15,646 posts)because at least one juror is making the case for reasonable doubt.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)are part of the court record.
spooky3
(34,455 posts)that the note includes 4 questions.
spooky3
(34,455 posts)common question.
spooky3
(34,455 posts)Manafort is in the court room.
I'll rewind to try to get the other 3 qs in a few minutes.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)spooky3
(34,455 posts)Mrs. Overall
(6,839 posts)On the surface asking about reasonable doubt sounds ominous (meaning that they might not convict him).
spooky3
(34,455 posts)Ken D: there is some dispute on one count where he had <50% ownership and maybe he didn't have a requirement to file FBAR report.
jury asked "about a shell company"; Judge: "rely on their collective recollection"
"can the exhibit lists be amended to include the indictment?"; Ken D: "that's a strange question because... jury has the indictment"
janx
(24,128 posts)A lot of people think that beyond a reasonable doubt means beyond all doubt. It does not.
Mrs. Overall
(6,839 posts)California_Republic
(1,826 posts)KPN
(15,646 posts)did a great job in this regard during the crap shoot ... err, jury selection.
California_Republic
(1,826 posts)The judge went over this many different times. I dont think its unusual to ask. Because its really the only blue sky area of law
Response to blaze (Reply #5)
Leghorn21 This message was self-deleted by its author.
pnwmom
(108,978 posts)Why would they have done that just to ask the judge some questions? Weird.
oswaldactedalone
(3,491 posts)I can say that we had two questions for the judge in the five or so hours we deliberated. Each time all parties to the case were brought back to the courtroom and were present while we asked our question and listened to the judge's explanation.
I'm thinking it's just standard operating procedure for Manafort to be in the courtroom when the jury asked their question.
pnwmom
(108,978 posts)the jury's question about the meaning of reasonable doubt?
oswaldactedalone
(3,491 posts)the result was "not guilty" as there was reasonable doubt about whether the evidence was convincing enough to establish guilt.
The reasonable doubt question most likely means at least one juror is trying to balance whether the evidence is convincing enough for a guilty verdict on at least one charge. It gives the defense a lift when a juror asks that question.
Cirque du So-What
(25,939 posts)We have a verdict, but we don't want to appear that we voted guilty too quickly (oopsie! guess a spoiler alert woulda been wise!). Besides, we want one more supper on the court's dime. Orders on the court!
Leghorn21
(13,524 posts)Where did he get that ostrich jacket again?
Can we get more bagels in here?
Do you like me? Yes [ ] No [ ]
Maybe [ ]
SHIT BE CRAY, Cirque!!
njhoneybadger
(3,910 posts)oswaldactedalone
(3,491 posts)That's a troublesome question when the evidence is as overwhelming as this is.
spooky3
(34,455 posts)charges, so the jury may be in a gray area on one or two of them, but believe that the evidence is overwhelming on others.
greymattermom
(5,754 posts)Do they retry the few? If he gets a long sentence, it wouldn't matter.
spooky3
(34,455 posts)Takket
(21,571 posts)if the jury convicts on enough major charges for manafort to spend a long time in prison, the state isn't going to waste their time on the on minor charges being retried just to tack on a year or two
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Note that both the prosecution and defense will find out what the vote was (i.e. 11-1, 6-6, etc.)
and can make a decision based on that.
Also if the defendant is convicted on the bulk of the charges there is little incentive for the prosecution to retry the rest.
Algernon Moncrieff
(5,790 posts)If you've been on a jury (or to Voir Dire) you know what I mean.
A lot of people would find these concepts complicated.
OnDoutside
(19,956 posts)Ccarmona
(1,180 posts)The jury must consider each count separately.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)OnDoutside
(19,956 posts)verdicts, based on the documents produced in evidence.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)for each charge, the other questions are standard and in no way is any "sign" to the prosecutor, in fact asking for the evidence to be correlated to each charge means this jury is serious and will take each of the 20 charges separately with the documents pertaining to each one.
Nothing here that looks good for Manafort as his defense is still based on hoping the jury will not believe the paper trail of evidence AND witness testimony
spooky3
(34,455 posts)Mrs. Overall
(6,839 posts)triron
(22,003 posts)a kennedy
(29,663 posts)and then the defense team comes out and says, this is great news??? Crap....
MaryMagdaline
(6,855 posts)On every count without carefully considering the definitions of each crime. They are doing their job
AlexSFCA
(6,137 posts)PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Algernon Moncrieff
(5,790 posts)Tomorrow after 2 PM. Reason: the jury doesn't want to deal with this over a weekend. They most likely would dawdle today even if they were in unanimous agreement because not a lot of people want to go back to work for just one day (remember - if you couldn't miss work, you got yourself thrown off this jury).
The question about "what constitutes reasonable doubt" means either someone has bought the defense argument (possible) or is seriously overthinking this (equally possible).
The jurors in the majority will pressure the jurors in the minority to wrap it up and get out by late tomorrow afternoon. If this goes much past Saturday, the defense will probably be dancing and skipping.