Bell trial: After mistrial, next steps for attorneys unclear

A day after a judge declared a mistrial on the remaining counts in the Bell corruption trial, saying "all hell had broken loose" with a deeply divided jury, it remained unclear what, if any, steps attorneys might take next.

Prosecutors declined to comment because of the upcoming trial of Robert Rizzo, the former city administrator alleged to be the mastermind of the corruption. But an official said no decision has been made about retrying the defendants on the remaining charges.

Attorneys representing two of the ex-Bell City Council members implied jury misconduct might have occurred.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

George Cole's attorney, Ronald Kaye, said the jury's behavior suggested "coercion and intimidation" that throws the guilty verdicts into question.

Attorney Shepard Kopp, who represented Teresa Jacobo, said the jury's conduct is "tremendous legal grounds for motion for a new trial."

Gerald F. Uelmen, a Santa Clara University School of Law criminal law professor, said the jury problems could help the defense in a challenge but that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy was correct in refusing to set aside Wednesday's verdicts.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

"They will be looking to see if there was any coercion and will probably file motions for a new trial," he said. "But the bottom line is the jury reached its decision."

Bell juror: "It was very, very tense" and could have gotten worse

Deliberations in the Bell corruption case were “very, very tense” and could have become more heated had a Superior Court judge not declared a mistrial Thursday on outstanding charges against five former leaders in the city, according to a juror.

In an interview with The Times, the juror said dissension on the panel had worsened considerably in the last week.

“We had some jurors who just kind of didn’t care what the instructions were and what the judge said and that was just that,” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous and said she was in favor of guilt.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

The woman said it was time to end the deliberations.

“It was very, very tense, and I believe that if we hadn’t ended when we did it probably could have been a lot worse,” she said.

“I believe that [the defendants] were good people but that wasn’t what we were there to decide," she said. "I was doing my best to base everything on the evidence and the facts of the case.”

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

The Bell corruption trial came to a chaotic end Thursday as the judge declared a mistrial on all outstanding counts, saying “all hell has broken loose” with the deeply divided jury.

An exasperated Judge Kathleen Kennedy drew the case to a close after a bizarre day in which one juror asked to reconsider the guilty verdicts reached Wednesday.

Then, an anonymous juror passed a note to Kennedy urging her to “remind the jury to remain respectful and not to make false accusations and insults to one another.”

Defense attorneys said they were stunned by the turn of events in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

“The verdicts came out and then it got weird,” said Stanley L. Friedman, who represents one of the accused former city leaders.

Bell trial comes to bizarre end [Video discussion]

 

The Bell trial came to a dramatic -- and bizarre -- end Thursday.

Times reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives will discuss the case in a video chat at 5:45 p.m.

A judge declared a mistrial on all outstanding counts, saying “all hell has broken loose” with the deeply divided jury.

An exasperated Judge Kathleen Kennedy drew the case to a close after a bizarre day in which one juror asked to reconsider the guilty verdicts reached Wednesday. Then, an anonymous juror passed a note to Kennedy urging her to “remind the jury to remain respectful and not to make false accusations and insults to one another.”

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

The jurors asked to be escorted out of the courthouse by security officers and declined to speak about the case.

Even defense attorneys were stunned by the turn of events in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

“The verdicts came out and then it got weird,” said Stanley L. Friedman, who represents one of the accused former city leaders.

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Bell mistrial: 'Prosecutors on steroids,' defense says

When former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley announced the arrests of eight Bell city officials, he called it a case of "corruption on steroids."

On Thursday, after a jury deadlocked on 42 remaining counts and Judge Kathleen Kennedy declared a mistrial, defense attorney Stanley Friedman called it a case of "prosecutors on steroids -- criminally charging nice people for the acts of Mr. Rizzo."

The jury said it was leaning 9 to 3 in favor of guilt on the remaining charges.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

Kennedy released them one day after they brought back a partial verdict, and after a final day of deliberations devolved into infighting.

"It seems to me all hell has broken loose," Kennedy said Thursday afternoon. "I'm getting the sense that the lines of communication have broken down between each and every one of you."

Kennedy made the statement after jurors sent notes asking her to admonish them to "remain respectful" and not make false accusations and insults. Earlier in the day, a juror had also asked to reconsider the guilty verdict from Wednesday.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

Five ex-council members -- Oscar Hernandez, George Cole, Teresa Jacobo, George Mirabal and Victor Bello -- were convicted of five counts of misappropriation of public funds. A sixth councilman, Luis Artiga, was acquitted on each of the 12 charges he faced.

"I feel great," Friedman said. "America was against my client and now we've shown the case was not like what people said it was."

After the jury was dismissed, family members of the ex-council members gathered in the hallway. They hugged, cried and congratulated one another.

TIMELINE: 'Corruption on steroids'

"I appreciate the three jurors who thought we should be acquitted," Mirabal said. He described the last few years as "an ordeal."

Bell trial: Judge declares mistrial on 10 counts, jury dismissed

This post has been amended, as noted below.

After four weeks of testimony, 18 days of deliberations and a mixed bag of verdicts, Judge Kathleen Kennedy declared a mistrial on the remaining counts and dismissed the jury in the Bell corruption trial.

"It seems to me all hell has broken loose," Kennedy said Thursday afternoon. "I'm getting the sense that the lines of comunication have broken down between each and every one of you,"

The dismissal came a day after the jury delivered verdicts of both guilty and not guilty for the so-called Bell 6, former City Council members accused of stealing public money through bloated salaries. Two others, ex-City Administrator Robert Rizzo and his assistant, Angela Spaccia, will stand trial later this year.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

Minutes before the judge declared a mistrial, the jury sent two notes suggesting that talks were breaking down.

"I respectfully ask if you could please remind the jury to remain respectful and not to make false accusations and insults to one another," one note said.

A second note from a different juror suggested that they were deadlocked on the charges involving the Surplus Property Authority. 

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

On Wednesday, ex-Mayor Oscar Hernandez, and ex-council members George Cole, Victor Bello, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal were convicted on multiple felony counts related to money they received for sitting on the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority. But they were acquitted on charges related to their pay from the Public Finance Authority.

The sixth defendant, former Councilman Luis Artiga, was acquitted of all the charges he faced and was dismissed from court.

Defense attorneys should have polled jury after verdict, experts say

A decision not to poll the jurors after Wednesday's verdict in the Bell corruption trial might prove to be an important mistake by the defendants' attorneys, experts indicated.

Judge Kathleen Kennedy has ordered the jury back into deliberations over undecided counts, but not before one juror sent a note Thursday expressing doubt over the guilty verdicts handed down the day before.

"It is better to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt to give a verdict of guilty than send someone innocent to prosecution," the juror wrote.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

But on Wednesday -- after receiving a similar juror note -- Kennedy said, "That's done, we're not going to reopen verdicts that have been reached."

When lawyers for the ex-councilmembers raised concerns over the jurors' note Wednesday, Kennedy was quick to point out that attorneys had opted not to poll the jury after the verdict was read, which would have allowed them to individually state how they voted.

Legal expert Dimitry Gorin, a criminal defense attorney, said he makes it a practice to always poll the jury because of the possibility that a juror might change their mind.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

“It’s surprising they passed on that here,” Gorin said.

Robert Sheahen, a veteran Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, said he does it as a matter of routine.

Gorin said the late developments in the Bell trial and verdicts is out of the ordinary.

“Questions from the jury as a collective aren’t unusual, but individual questions are rare and what is happening here is highly unusual and unique,” Gorin said.

TIMELINE: 'Corruption on steroids'

Other experts agreed.

"I have never heard of anything like this in my 40 years of law," Sheahen said. "What is going on now is nothing short of bizarre. To go back and ask to reexamine verdicts doesn't happen."

However, as puzzling as the behavior might be, experts said it was extremely unlikely the jury would be allowed to go back on their decision.

Bell trial: Judge’s note to jury a setback, defense says

A juror sent the judge in the Bell corruption case a note that showed panel members were struggling with counts surrounding the pay council members received for serving on the Bell Community Housing Authority.

The juror's note, which Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy read in court Thursday, asked whether there was any other state law regarding the Housing Authority.

Kennedy said she would tell jurors that state law says housing authority members can be paid for four meetings a month at the rate of $50 a meeting. The jury is deadlocked on 21 counts related to the Housing Authority.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

"There is no other state law providing for compensation for the Community Housing Authority," she said she would respond.

Her answer is a setback for the defense attorneys who had argued that their clients could receive additional pay from the housing authority for work they performed outside meetings. The judge asked jurors to resume deliberations on the deadlocked counts.

Stanley L. Friedman, the attorney for defendant Oscar Hernandez, said that calling the decision a setback "was rather a mild term."

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

Kennedy did not buy the defense argument during the often-heated court hearing. "I reject that for the housing authority," she said. "The state law governs the housing authority and the housing authority has a specific statute that says what the compensation is."

Bell trial: Jurors ordered to resume deliberations

Jurors in the Bell corruption trial were ordered Thursday to resume deliberations on the multiple charges they were unable to reach a verdict on, lengthening a drawn-out effort to bring the criminal case to a close.

Jurors returned mixed verdicts Wednesday, convicting five former council members on multiple counts of misappropriation of public funds but acquitting the defendants on an equal number of charges. But jurors were unable to reach a verdict on roughly half the counts.

One of the former council members, Luis Artiga, was acquitted on all charges.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy ordered jurors to resume their efforts to reach a verdict on 42 criminal counts relating to the high salaries the elected officials were drawing in one of Los Angeles County’s poorest cities.

The day began as chaotically as it ended Wednesday, with a juror expressing misgivings about the guilty verdicts that had been handed down. All of the guilty verdicts – each one a felony – related to the council member’s pay for serving on the small town’s Solid Waste and Recycling Authority.

In a note early Thursday, the juror cited the pressure and stress of the deliberation process as his or her reason to rethink the vote on the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

A juror also requested more information or evidence on Edward Lee, a former city attorney for Bell who was not called as a witness in the four-week trial. It was not clear if the note was from a different juror than No. 7, who sent a similar note on Wednesday.

Kennedy denied the request to reconsider the guilty verdicts.

Bell jury can't change guilty verdicts, judge and experts say

Despite evidence that some Bell jurors might be having misgivings about the guilty verdicts in the Bell corruption trial, the judge and legal experts said the panel can't change its mind.

In a note delivered Thursday morning, one anonymous juror said, "It is better to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt to give a verdict of guilty than send someone innocent to prosecution."

But on Wednesday -- after receiving a similar juror note -- Judge Kathleen Kennedy said, "That's done, we're not going to reopen verdicts that have been reached."

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

Legal experts said the behavior is extremely unusual.

"I have never heard of anything like this in my 40 years of law," said Robert Sheahen, a veteran Los Angeles criminal defense attorney. "What is going on now is nothing short of bizarre. To go back and ask to reexamine verdicts doesn't happen."

However, as puzzling as the behavior might be, experts said it was extremely unlikely the jury would be allowed to go back on their decision.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

Gerald F. Uelmen, a Santa Clara University School of Law criminal law professor who was part of the O.J. Simpson defense "dream team," said the "verdict is final once returned and rendered."

"One juror changing their mind afterward doesn't make any difference because the verdict was returned," he said.

Uelmen, who was also a lawyer in the Pentagon Papers case, said defense attorneys could try to pursue an inquiry into the jury deliberations.

TIMELINE: 'Corruption on steroids'

"They will be looking to see if there was any coercion and will probably file motions for a new trial," he said. "But the bottom line is the jury reached its decision."

Laurie Levenson, a former prosecutor and Loyola Law School professor, said defense attorneys may believe it is grounds for an appeal. But if there is no jury misconduct, "second thoughts just aren't enough to challenge the verdicts.

"Second thoughts aren't legal grounds to overturn a verdict once a verdict is rendered," she said. "That is kind of it."

DOCUMENT: Read the charges

To overturn the verdicts, she said, the council members would need to show actual misconduct in the jury room, such as use of outside information.

Bell trial: Juror wants to reconsider guilty verdicts, note says

An anonymous juror in the Bell corruption trial sent a note to the judge Thursday morning saying he or she wanted to rethink the guilty verdicts the panel handed down the day before.

"Your honor after you asked us yesterday to go back into the deliberation room, I had time to think until now," the note began.

The development comes a day after the jury delivered verdicts of both guilty and not guilty for the so-called Bell 6, former City Council members accused of stealing public money through bloated salaries. But hours after the verdicts were read, the jurors sent five notes to the judge, raising questions about the deliberations.

FULL COVERAGE: Bell corruption trial

In Thursday's note, a juror cited the pressure and stress of the deliberation process as his or her reason to rethink the vote on the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority.

[Updated at 10:25 a.m., March 21: "I have been debating in my own mind that due to the pressure and stress of the deliberation process, the jury may have given an improper verdict of guilty on the Solid Waste Authority," the juror wrote to Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy. "It is better to be certain beyond a reasonable doubt to give a verdict of guilty than send someone innocent to prosecution. If possible, I request to remain anonymous."

The juror requested more information or evidence on Edward Lee, a former city attorney for Bell.

CHEAT SHEET: Bell corruption verdicts

 It was not clear if the note was from a different juror than No. 7, who sent a similar note on Wednesday.

Defense attorney Alex Kessel asked to find out who the juror was and demanded further inquiry. 

"Are we dealing with multiple jurors who believe there is possible pressure going on?" he asked. 

TIMELINE: 'Corruption on steroids'

Judge Kathleen Kennedy denied the request.

Later, Kessel raised the issue again and brought up the juror who after less than one week of deliberations was dismissed for misconduct. Kessel said she too had mentioned pressure and coercion.

The defense attorneys asked if the bailiff could find out and have the judge seal the identification of that juror. In the end, Kennedy said she would find out herself.]

On Wednesday, ex-Mayor Oscar Hernandez, and ex-council members George Cole, Victor Bello, Teresa Jacobo and George Mirabal were convicted on multiple felony counts related to money they received for sitting on the Solid Waste and Recycling Authority. But they were acquitted on charges related to their pay from the Public Finance Authority.

The sixth defendant, former Councilman Luis Artiga, was acquitted of all the charges he faced.

When the jury said Wednesday it was undecided on charges related to the Community Housing and Surplus Property authorities, four jurors told Kennedy additional information about state laws might help the panel reach a verdict.

Kennedy dismissed the group for lunch. When court was back in session Wednesday, the drama continued when five notes were submitted to the judge.

In a cryptic note, Juror No. 7 told Kennedy he had misgivings about the deliberations, saying he "questioned myself on information that had me on a [doubt] of thing [sic] that were not presented properly."

Defense attorney Ron Kaye, who represents former Councilman George Cole, told the judge the juror's note suggested he might have been persuaded to vote a certain way. But Kennedy rejected the lawyer's  request to talk to the juror.

“That's done, we're not going to reopen verdicts that have been reached,” Kennedy said.

In another note, Juror No. 10 said that she believes the jury is "getting away from your instructions" and possibly misunderstanding a law on "several levels." Defense attorney Stanley Friedman, who represents Hernandez, said the comments raised the possibility of jury misconduct.

Legal expert Dimitry Gorin, a criminal defense attorney, said Wednesday the late developments in the Bell trial and verdicts are out of the ordinary.

“Questions from the jury as a collective aren’t unusual, but individual questions are rare and what is happening here is highly unusual and unique,” Gorin said.

What will happen to the convicted ex-council members remains unclear.

Legal expert Troy Slaten, a criminal defense attorney, said the council members are not required to be jailed. They could instead be put on probation and perform community service.

The jury did not reach a decision on the special allegations that the defendants took property exceeding $65,000 and $100,000.

Hernandez's attorney Friedman said the verdicts so far give the defendants a chance at probation. If they are convicted of the special allegations, it would be harder for a judge to give them probation, Friedman said.

"So we are hoping for probation but we will obviously appeal," Friedman said.

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— Corina Knoll, Ruben Vives, Richard Winton and Kate Mather