Jurors Deadlocked In Liberty City 7 Case
Judge Denies Motion For Mistrial
POSTED: Monday, December 10, 2007
UPDATED: 6:27 pm EST December 10,
2007
MIAMI -- Jurors are still deadlocked in the trial of seven men accused of plotting to bomb FBI offices, but a federal judge in Miami has ordered the panel to continue deliberating.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard has denied a defense motion for a mistrial. Instead she called the panel into court and read a jury instruction designed to bring the case to a resolution.
The jury of six men and six women have been debating the group's guilt or innocence for six days. They sent a second note Monday indicating they couldn't agree on a verdict against any of the so-called "Liberty City Seven." A similar note was issued Thursday.
Lenard won't publicly release the contents of the notes or allow them to be read in court.
She told the jury it was their "duty to agree upon a verdict" -- if they could.
If jurors can't reach a verdict, the U.S. Justice Department would have to decide whether to try the case again, drop the charges or negotiate plea agreements with some or all the men.
The seven men are accused of plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and government buildings in Miami and other cities across the U.S.
Prosecutors said the seven men were videotaped pledging allegiance to al-Qaida, while not knowing that the man leading the pledge was an FBI informant.
Defense attorneys argued the men were just playing along hoping to get money from the supposed al-Qaida contact.
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