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A juror was dismissed from the James Botti federal corruption trial Wednesday, after she brought a journal into the deliberation room against court orders.
That was the official reason for dismissal, but after reading excerpts from juror no. eight’s journal, the attorneys and Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. also questioned the juror’s mental stability.
When asked in court — outside the presence of the full jury — as to why she brought her journals to court, the juror said she wanted to relay to the full jury a conversation she had with another juror. She wanted to be able to “say verbatim what was said.”
The contents of that conversation were not fully clarified in court, but juror no. eight hinted to her concerns that jurors were talking about the case outside of deliberations.
“You can’t take anything she wrote at face value,” said assistant U.S. attorney Richard Schechter after reading the entries.
Schechter asked Haight to question the remaining 11 jurors “to find out if they’ve been tainted by the psychological musings of this juror.”
Botti’s attorney, William Dow III, objected to ousting the juror, saying the journals did not contain anything “electrifying.”
He was more concerned with a note the juror also presented to Haight. She said she had asked for the note to be sent out previously, but was denied by the rest of the jury.
The note had bullet points of items that concerned the juror.
The press requested a copy of the note. It was sealed by the judge, along with the journal entries.
The incident took most of the day Wednesday — time the jury could not spend deliberating.
Despite the incident, the woman told Haight she was fit to continue.
“I have a degree in philosophy, logic and reason. I’m a very fair person,” she said.
But during and earlier interview with the jury foreman, Haight got a different point of view.
“In your opinion is the juror open and capable of going on and deliberating as a juror should?” Haight asked the foreman.
“No,” she replied.
After a lunch break, Judge Haight asked the remaining juror if they felt they could continue. Each indicated they could continue.
Botti is on trial for allegedly bribing Mayor Mark Lauretti. The mayor has never been charged with a crime and has denied the claims.
12:54 p.m.
A woman deliberating the fate of developer James Botti brought in personal journals in which she writes about the case — a violation of the judge’s orders to the jury.
The woman was being questioned by Senior District Judge Charles Haight Jr. as of 12:15 p.m.
As of 12:40 p.m., the judge and lawyers were reading silently from the woman’s journal.
The judge is trying to get to the bottom of why the woman brought in the journal — and why she allegedly used the phrase “hung jury” in deliberations before the case had been considered by her peers.
The woman is not giving direct answers, but acknowledged she brought the journal into the federal court house.
She said she has been keeping a journal for some 27 years. The journal apparently contains information about a conversation she had with another juror about the case.
When Judge Haight asked her if she could continue deliberations, the woman said:
“Absolutely, your honor. I’m a very fair person.”
The woman also said that another juror said he had already made up his mind about the case — and that Botti “hired the best lawyer in New Haven.”
The jury forewoman, under separate, yes or no questioning by the judge, said the juror who brought in the journal isn’t capable of continuing on the case.
As of 12:54 p.m., the case was on a break so that photocopies of the woman’s journal could be made.
The following was posted at 11:43 a.m.
The parties in the James Botti corruption case are trying to figure out how to deal with a revelation that a juror deliberating the case brought in “outside materials.”
What precisely the juror brought in — and when — isn’t known.
Botti’s lawyer, William Dow III, asked for a mistrial. Senior District Judge Charles Haight Jr. denied it.
The jury sent out a long note to the court about 30 minutes ago, asking how to proceed. The juror also said something about a “hung jury,” but the context wasn’t immediately clear.
The judge, prosecutors and Dow are debating how to proceed — and to find out what “outside materials” were brought in.
The jury foreman was going to be questioned to find out what happened.
Botti is on trial for allegedly bribing Mayor Mark Lauretti to get commercial projects approved. Lauretti has never been charged with a crime and denies the accusations.
