Judge Calls Blago's Latest Retrial Motion "Hare-Brained"
By Chuck Sudo in News on Dec 19, 2011 5:40PM
When legal analysts in later years look back at the differences between Rod Blagojevich's two corruption trials, the "see what sticks" approach attorneys Sheldon Sorosky and Aaron Goldstein took for the retrial must be one of the discussion points between why he was convicted of 17 counts in the retrial versus one count in the original.
Sorosky and Goldstein continue to use that approach as they work to get Blagojevich a retrial. On Friday, they filed a motion for a new trial, claiming that Connie Wilson, the jury foreperson in the retrial, claiming misconduct on Wilson's part for showing her jury summons and questionnaire, and sketches of Blagojevich, to a group of high school students in Aurora. Wilson showed all of this while speaking to students at Metea Valley High School earlier this month.
The Blagojevich legal team said in the motion that the jurors' questionnaires were supposed to be sealed and confidential and that even they didn't have copies.
“Mrs. Wilson, if indeed she does have a copy of her questionnaire, has violated a rule of this court and engaged in potential jury misconduct,” the defense team wrote in its motion. “If it is found that Ms. Wilson violated court rules, her violations must result in a new trial.”
Judge James Zagel called a 10 a.m. hearing but already said in advance the motion would be denied, calling the motion "hare-brained."
“I never instructed the jury that the questionnaires … had to be kept confidential,” Zagel said. He also added that the motion was "prepared without adequate thought" and that Blagojevich's attorneys "might want to consider writing (Wilson) a letter of apology."
“It smacks a little of a retaliatory motive against a juror that perhaps you and your client don’t like, and is improper,” Zgel told Blagojevich’s lawyers.