Blagojevich jury tells judge they may be deadlocked

The judge, the lawyers and the media struggled Wednesday to interpret a letter in which the jury in the Blagojevich corruption case said it's deadlocked on "given counts."

The letter, on the 11th day of deliberations, did not say on which counts the jury failed to agree, or for which defendant. Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is on trial along with his brother, fundraiser Robert Blagojevich.

The jury asked Judge James Zagel for "guidance" and said it had gone "beyond reasonable attempts" to reach a unanimous verdict in the case.

Zagel, after calling in both defendants and consulting with prosecution and defense attorneys, announced his intention to ask in writing for a clarification on whether the jury was locked on "some or all of the counts."

The jury left for the day, leaving it up to the six men and six women to formulate a response to the judge this morning before an 11 a.m. hearing to determine where to go from here. Zagel also said he'd make it clear to the jury it was "permissible" to reach a unanimous verdict on some but not all of the counts.

Today, Zagel could urge the jury to pursue a unanimous verdict on any and all charges in the 24-count case against Rod Blagojevich and the four counts he shares with his brother, or he could accept the deadlock on some or all counts - or any of various shadings in between.

"We don't know what it means," Michael Ettinger, defense attorney for Robert Blagojevich, said of the jury's letter. "The judge doesn't know what it means."

Ettinger called the note "vague" and said, "If you read it in parts, you're lost," but that at some points in its entirety it gave the impression the jury was deadlocked across the board.

"I assume they're hung on my client, but I don't know," Ettinger said. "I'd rather be acquitted than have a hung jury, but a hung jury's better than a conviction."

Ettinger said other parts of the note referred to disputes over "acts" alleged in the case, which could translate to the racketeering counts against Rod Blagojevich.

"The bottom line is, I don't know," he said.

Rod Blagojevich's attorneys declined to comment, saying they'd been instructed not to discuss the issue by Judge Zagel. Ettinger too said he couldn't discuss what had been debated outside of open court.

"How do you know they're deadlocked in his favor?" said Chicago attorney Steven Greenberg. "How do you know that any of the counts were in his favor? We don't know." And probably won't until after the final verdict is accepted by the judge and read in court.

If the jury is deadlocked, prosecutors can retry the Blagojeviches on those counts, no matter whether they're convicted or acquitted on other counts, Greenberg added.

In the hearing over the inquiry, Zagel lauded the jury as "exceptionally disciplined," and while he noted that "no one knows exactly what goes on in the jury room," he said court officials detected no "rancor," "shouting" or "loud voices" during deliberations.

Rob Blagojevich arrived at the courthouse around 10:20 a.m. today, and waved to the crowd and media. He then introduced his wife Julie

Asked how he was feeling, he said he was as good as can be expected.

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<li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/packages/2008/blagojevich/" target="new">Complete coverage of Blagojevich trial</a></li>

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