All is quiet just outside the Englewood Federal Prison here
in Colorado, with just a handful of TV news trucks awaiting the arrival of former
Governor Rod Blagojevich. It's a stark contrast to the crowd that
gathered just hours ago in front of his home.
The prison is set against a mountain backdrop with beautiful
sunsets. The inmates can be spotted spending time outside several
times a day.
Blagojevich has to report by midnight Thursday but he is expected to arrive
earlier.
The jury deciding the fate of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich has reached a verdict on 18 of 20 counts, Judge James Zagel just announced in court.
"The jury has come to a unanimous decision on 18 of 20 counts ... We are confident that we will not able to come to agreement on the two counts even with further deliberation," the note from the jury read.
Jurors in the trial of Rod Blagojevich have gone home
after the 9th day of deliberations. They
will return Monday at 9am.
Court security guards were spotted bringing pizza to the 25th floor of the federal courthouse today presumably for the Blagojevich jurors.
The jury is now into their 9th day of deliberations.
No sign of a verdict.
The jury in the case of Rod Blagojevich has asked for clarification regarding a portion of the jury instructions that pertain to wire fraud.
After consulting with the attorney's, the judge has sent back a note to the jurors stating, "I ask you to take another look at the relevant instructions. After you have done so, if you think it is necessary, I ask you to state which specific phrases in the third proposition you believe need clarification."
The judge then told attorney's not to go far in case this needs followup.
Yesterday it was the game Banana Grams, today it's video of talking dogs.
When not reviewing Blagojevich trial information, this is how the members of the media spend their time at the courthouse waiting on a verdict.
The jury has begun deliberating for the fourth day.
Yesterday they sent a question to the judge about missing pages from a phone transcript.
While the 11 women and one man jury are hard at work deciding the case of ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich, the defendant tells his lawyers he is simply trying not to think about the deliberations.
This is the 4th day jurors have toiled over the case. While they sweat over the voluminous documents and secretly recorded FBI phone calls, Rod Blagojevich is sweating, too. He goes for a jog everyday to distract himself from the case. He is reading a book about President Truman and he is calling his lawyers a lot. The man accused talking too much, keeps his record in tact by phoning his legal team constantly.
The jurors in the re-trial of Rod Blagojevich are deliberating for the third day and have been quiet thus far.
The judge has not received any questions from the jury.
Last Friday jurors told the judge they plan to deliberate Monday thru Thursday till 4 p.m.
They indicated if they found themselves close to a verdict they would stay late.
The jurors have gone home for the day in the trial of Rod Blagojevich. They will return tomorrow morning to begin their 3rd day of deliberations.
Juror 132 in the Blagojevich trial has now been placed as an alternate and juror 181 has been bumped to the main 12.
Reason is currently unknown.
Juror 132 has not been excused.
Judge Zagel has denied a motion for mistrial filed by the
Blagojevich defense team.
The 25 page motion noted several reasons including the exclusion of many FBI recordings as well as claims the ex-governor did not receive a fair trial.
Attorney Lauren Kaeseberg told the judge "we believe we are fighting for his life."
The jurors in the case of Rod Blagojevich have told the judge they have selected a foreman and have decided on a work schedule.
Judge James Zagel is now hearing motions for mistrial filed by the defense.
The first day of jury deliberations began mid morning in the retrial of former Governor Blagojevich.
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