Eight women and four men have been considering the fate of former state-Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for less than a day,but there's already some drama in the jury room. One juror said he or she (the gender of the juror was not released) feels pressured and is asking to be let off the case.
The jury began deliberating the seven corruption counts against Silver at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. In less than two hours, there was an issue. One juror sent a note to the judge saying that he or she had a difference of opinion with everyone else and was feeling “pressured, and stressed out” and told that he or she wasn't using “common sense.” The juror wrote that “my heart is pounding and my head feels weird and asked to be excused.“I am so stressed out honest now that I can’t even write normally. I dont feel like I can be myself honest now! I need to leave!” the juror wrote.
A moment note a short time later said a juror was having danger understanding if exchanging state funds for something was illegal. It’s unclear if it was the same one who asked to be let off the case.
Judge Valerie Caproni brought the jury back in to reiterate some points regarding the law. She didn't dismiss the juror who complained of feeling pressure. That juror sent a moment note at the halt of the day asking to meet with the judge after the other jurors had left for the day.
After conferring with the attorneys for both sides,the judge decided to wait until the morning to deal with the issue. Deliberations are scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Source: wnyc.org