Deliberations

In the state's first decision involving juries and social media, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has called on judges to better police jurors' use of the Internet to make sure they do not discuss cases online, and thus risk a mistrial. The court said judges need to do more to explain to jurors that refraining from conversations about a case also means not posting anything about it on Facebook or Twitter, common practice in today's technology-driven world. "Jurors must separate and insulate their jury service from their digital lives," the court said in a ruling involving a Plymouth Superior Court...

GREENSBORO, N.C. - John Edwards tried to make eye contact with each juror as they filed into the courtroom Wednesday before heading home after a fourth day of deliberations without a verdict in his campaign finance trial. A former trial lawyer, Edwards is familiar with the old courtroom adage that jurors who return the defendant's gaze with a quick smile or a nod may be leaning toward acquittal, while those who turn away could be signaling guilt. While the former presidential candidate, the media, and court observers look for clues to what the jury is thinking, legal...

Figure skating: more corrupt than ever? In the Olympics, many events depend on subjective scoring from a panel of judges. But confidence in these scoring systems has been undermined by scandals, perhaps most infamously a 2002 pairs skating case in which a French judge "was reportedly pressured by some combination of her national federation and the Russian mafia to vote for a Russian pair in exchange for a Russian vote for a...

As jurors in the John Edwards campaign corruption trial get set for a fifth day of deliberations, legal experts caution it's still too early to read too much into their discussions. While the former presidential candidate, the media and court observers look for clues to what the jury is thinking, legal experts said it's early in such a complex case to read too much into jurors' body language, dress and demeanor. Even speculating on why they have asked questions about one particular wealthy donor may be going too far. "You can always try to come up with these inferences," said...

CHICAGO — Jurors at the corruption retrial of ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich began their deliberations yesterday but went home for the weekend after meeting for just a few hours. The jury will resume deliberations Tuesday on several charges, including that Blagojevich sought to sell or trade President Obama’s vacated US Senate seat and that he tried to shake down executives by threatening state decisions that would hurt their businesses. During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors described Blagojevich as a schemer who lied to jurors even when confronted with FBI wiretap...

NEW YORK -- Jurors began deliberating yesterday whether two former executives looted more than $600 million from Tyco International Inc. and used the money to pay for vacation homes, extravagant furnishings, jewelry, and a party on a Mediterranean island. Former Tyco chief executive L. Dennis Kozlowski and former finance chief Mark H. Swartz are both charged with 32 counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records, and violating state business laws and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- A juror in the Scott Peterson murder trial who apparently did her own research on the case was removed and replaced with an alternate yesterday, and the judge ordered the panel to start all over again with their deliberations. "We're going to send you back. Start all over again and keep in touch," Judge Alfred A. Delucchi told the panel on the fifth day of deliberations. It was not immediately clear what the woman specifically did to get taken off the jury.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The jury deciding the fate of John Edwards in North Carolina finished a second day of deliberations Monday without reaching a verdict. The former presidential candidate faces 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines after pleading not guilty to six campaign finance corruption charges. The jury began considering its decision Friday, after nearly four weeks of testimony. Jurors asked Monday to see eight evidence exhibits. Prosecutors have accused the Democrat of plotting to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from two donors to help hide...

The jury deciding the fate of John Edwards is set to resume deliberations in North Carolina following a weekend break. The former presidential candidate faces 30 years in prison after pleading not guilty to six campaign finance corruption charges. The jury began considering its decision Friday, after nearly four weeks of testimony. Prosecutors have accused the Democrat of masterminding a scheme to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from two wealthy donors to help hide his pregnant mistress as he sought the White House in 2008.

A juror described some contentious moments, including yelling and cajoling, during two days of deliberations before reaching the guilty verdict in the trial of Michael Jackson's doctor. Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted Monday of involuntary manslaughter for supplying Jackson with the drug he craved for sleep. The 50-year-old entertainer died on June 25, 2009. Forty-eight-year-old Debbie Franklin, who was Juror No. 5, told ABC-TV's "Good Morning America" that most of the jurors had decided Murray's guilt on Friday, the first day of deliberations.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The jury deciding the fate of John Edwards in North Carolina finished a second day of deliberations Monday without reaching a verdict. The former presidential candidate faces 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines after pleading not guilty to six campaign finance corruption charges. The jury began considering its decision Friday, after nearly four weeks of testimony. Jurors asked Monday to see eight evidence exhibits. Prosecutors have accused the Democrat of plotting to use nearly $1 million in secret payments from two donors to help hide his pregnant...

The jury deciding the fate of former presidential candidate John Edwards has finished a third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict. Edwards faces 30 years in prison after pleading not guilty to six campaign finance corruption charges. The jury began considering its decision Friday, after nearly four weeks of testimony. The jurors ended their talks Tuesday shortly after requesting access to notes from Alex Forger, the lawyer for Rachel "Bunny" Mellon. The 101-year-old heiress provided most of the nearly $1 million in secret payments prosecutors say Edwards used to help...

Figure skating: more corrupt than ever? In the Olympics, many events depend on subjective scoring from a panel of judges. But confidence in these scoring systems has been undermined by scandals, perhaps most infamously a 2002 pairs skating case in which a French judge "was reportedly pressured by some combination of her national federation and the Russian mafia to vote for a Russian pair in exchange for a Russian vote for a...

Jurors will deliberate for a second day at the trial of the man accused of slaying Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. The jury is scheduled to return to a Chicago courthouse Thursday morning to continue discussing evidence against Hudson's former brother-in-law, William Balfour. Judge Charles Burns told jurors Wednesday night after they had deliberated for more than four hours that they would be sequestered at a hotel for the night. At such high-profile trials, jurors are often not permitted to go home to ensure they don't view media...

Jurors are expected to resume deliberations in the vehicular homicide trial of Amy Senser, the wife of ex-Minnesota Viking Joe Senser. The jury recessed around 7 p.m. Wednesday after nearly 13 hours of deliberations that began Tuesday and were sequestered for another night. Jurors asked no questions of the judge Wednesday. They were expected to resume deliberations about 9 a.m. Thursday. Amy Senser is charged with three felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide and one misdemeanor count of careless driving in the Aug. 23 death of Anousone...

A federal jury in Connecticut will begin deliberating whether a reputed Bridgeport drug dealer should get the death penalty for the killings of three people in a drug turf dispute in 2005. The jury in New Haven is expected to start deliberations on Monday in the case of 29-year-old Azibo Aquart, who was convicted in May of racketeering murder and conspiracy. Aquart was one of three men charged in the beating deaths of 43-year-old Tina Johnson, 40-year-old James Reid and 54-year-old Basil Williams.

A jury has started deliberations in a closely watched copyright infringement trial pitting Oracle against Google. The federal case in San Francisco centers on Oracle's allegations that Google's popular Android software for mobile devices relies on technology stolen from Java. That's a programming platform that Oracle Corp. acquired in 2010 as part of its $7.3 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Google Inc. says it drew upon small parts of Java that aren't protected by copyright and traditionally have been freely available to all programmers.