Nov 20, 2009 6:08 am US/Eastern
Hung? Gotti Jury Heads Home For The Weekend
Panel Tells Judge They're Deadlocked; Judge Tells Them To Keep Working
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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A New York jury which has been considering racketeering charges against John "Junior" Gotti for more than a week has told a judge it's unable to agree on a verdict.
AP
Deadlocked again.
John "Junior" Gotti's fourth racketeering trial could be heading toward another mistrial after being sent home for the weekend.
If this jury deadlocks like the other three did in his last three trials, then Gotti will have once again dodged the federal government's bullet. But just when it seemed that would happen – because the jury sent out a note saying "we are deadlocked" – the judge sent them back to the jury room.
That was expected. What was not expected was that the judge would send them home early, rather than risk another deadlock note. That made the Gotti family furious.
They said little as they left the court:
"I really don't have any comment, I just know that the jury is working very hard," said Gotti's sister Victoria.
Before the judge sent them home, though, another twist: one more note, this one saying the jury was deadlocked on the elements of the murder count. Rather than explain the law again, the judge sent them home.
CBS 2 asked Gotti's lawyer, Charles Carnesi, how he and Gotti were "reading" the jury.
"Once they came out with the other note and that was gonna take them some time, then I think the judge made the right call to send them home," said Carnesi. "It tells me that they're asking questions, they're doing their job."
Deliberations will resume on Monday.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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