Published June 15, 2011
The jury in the federal corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi and two co-defendants is in its second full day of deliberation today.
The jury instructions from Judge Mark Wolf in this case are 65 pages long. That’s even longer than the government’s indictment of the three defendants!
It took the judge over two hours, with a brief intermission, to instruct the jurors on the law Monday. Yesterday, the jurors requested the judge give them the instructions a second time. He did.
Then, yesterday afternoon, the jury sent a note asking for a written transcript of his instructions. This morning, Wolf told the jurors they will get them some time today.
You want to see just how complicated the charges in this case are? You want to see what the jurors are struggling with? Here are the judge’s instructions. You be the jury.