Colorado prison appears to prepare for Blago
Authorities at the Englewood prison here in Littleton, Colo., appear to have begun preparations for the arrival of Illinois ex-governor Rod Blagojevich. Orange cones block one of the two main entrances and a large bus is blocking the view of the front door where it is presumed he will enter.
Chaos in Chicago; Quiet in Colorado
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.
Blagojevich guilty on 17 of 20 counts
The jury found Blagojevich guilty on 17 counts.
They could not reach a verdict on Count 11 - Attempted Extortion -- Solicitation of U.S. congressman and Count 16 - Attempted Extortion - Solicitation of construction executive.
Blagojevich was found not guilty on Count 17 - Bribery - Solicitation of construction executive.
Blagojevich enters courtroom
Rod en route to courthouse
A sizable crowd of people have gathered outside the courthouse watching the activity at the Dirksen Federal Building.
Verdict reached
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.
Jury adjourns for weekend
Jurors in the trial of Rod Blagojevich have gone home
after the 9th day of deliberations. They
will return Monday at 9am.
9th day of deliberations, no sign of verdict
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.
Media tries to keep busy while waiting
Outside the 2nd floor cafeteria where "Camp Blagojevich" is set up, members of the media have found several ways to keep busy.
Some work on their computers without barely uttering a word, others read or play scrabble. There have also been arts and crafts and the occasional cat nap and of course, a lot of speculation as to what the jurors are doing. Everyone prepared to kick into gear at a moments notice.
The jury in the first trial took 14 days to deliberate only to find themselves hung on nearly every count.
Jury goes home, no verdict
The jury has deliberated for six days without reaching a verdict.
Jury goes home
Today they sent a note asking for clarification of the jury instructions pertaining to wire fraud.
Deliberations will resume Monday morning.
Jury meets with judge
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.
Fourth day of deliberations
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.
3rd day of jury deliberations
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.
Day 2 of deliberations is over
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 changes
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 Denies motion for mistrial
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."
Judge hears motions for mistrial
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.
Jury deliberations begin
The first day of jury deliberations began mid morning in the retrial of former Governor Blagojevich.
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