SF Chron: Juror in (Lodi) terror trial disavows verdict

[Newsjock]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/28/LODI.TMP

Sacramento -- One of 12 jurors who convicted a 23-year-old Lodi man Tuesday on charges that he trained for holy war disavowed the verdict late Thursday, alleging that she was bullied into a guilty finding amid a pattern of misconduct by fellow panelists.

"I never once throughout the deliberation process and the reading of the verdict believed Hamid Hayat to be guilty," Arcelia Lopez, a 44-year-old school nurse from Sacramento, said in a 2,000-word affidavit filed to the U.S. District Court in Sacramento by the defense just after 9 p.m.

...Among other accusations, Lopez said the jury's foreman, near the start of the two-month trial, "gestured as if he was tying a rope around his neck" and said, "Hang him." Lopez said the gesture was repeated throughout the trial and that she believed it was a reference to Hayat.

... Lopez said jurors inappropriately talked about media reports regarding the case. In particular, she said, jurors expressed interest in finding out what dismissed juror Andrea Clabaugh, 39, of Carmichael, said to reporters on March 22. Clabaugh had said the evidence thus far had not convinced her of Hayat's guilt.

... Lopez said the foreman, Joseph Cote, 64, of Folsom, made offensive comments about Hayat during deliberations. She quoted him as saying, "If you put them in the same costume then they all look alike."

more

[Peace Patriot]

1. Wow! What a courageous woman! You have my admiration, Arcelia Lopez!

Thank you for your honesty and bravery!

:applause: :patriot: :applause:

[rodeodance]

2. Wonder what will happen?

... Lopez said the foreman, Joseph Cote, 64, of Folsom, made offensive comments about Hayat during deliberations. She quoted him as saying, "If you put them in the same costume then they all look alike."

[0007]

3. ...and if she never spoke out? It should have never never gotten this far

Hayat's attorney, Wazhma Mojaddidi, said Lopez's claims should prompt U.S. District Judge Garland Burrell Jr. to grant the young man a new trial. Hayat now faces 30 to 39 years in prison at a July 14 sentencing.

Prosecutors could not be reached for comment at the late hour.

But one juror, speaking condition of anonymity, called the accusations "a complete outrage" borne of "juror regret." The juror said Lopez changed her vote to guilty Monday, which at first made the juror uncomfortable.

"When she decided to change her vote, which was completely under her own will, I asked her flat-out to her face, in front of everybody, if she was changing her mind based on her own free will and the evidence presented the jury," the juror said. "She said yes."

Railroad crossing look out for cars can you it without any "Rs"

[bo44]

4. Here is the article from the local cageliner

Clap louder.


http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060428/NEWS01/604280323

[0007]

7. Thanks.....this is an article that America should read and be

very afraid.

Additionally, Lopez claimed another juror read a three- to four-page note about her stress symptoms from deliberations and blamed them on Lopez.

University of California, Berkeley, law professor Charles Weisselberg agreed with Miller that it's hard to convince a judge to grant a new trial.

Weisselberg said most judges won't interfere in deliberations, and that includes questioning jurors about the factors that went into their decisions.

"Judges don't want to ask jurors about deliberations," Weisselberg said, "and the second thing is, judges don't want jurors to have second thoughts. They're not typically entitled to change their minds. In order for the claim to have real merit, they'd have to show real misconduct occurred."

Read it here folks

[MrPrax]

5. Double Wow!

She honest, forthright and has a stronger passion for justice than most in the CA judicial system...I nominate her for attorney-general.

[Betsy Ross]

6. Again, just what was Hayat convicted of?

Thought crime? Or just being brown and muslim? I don't understand how going to the training camp constitutes a crime subject to 30 years in prison. Lying to the FBI, ok. But again, wouldn't telling the truth be akin to self-incrimination. The whole business smells. Let's go for real honest convictions of serious crimes.