By Mike Ward | Tuesday, November 23, 2010, 12:02 PM
UPDATED Noon: The Tom DeLay jury has ordered lunch, indicating a decision is not expected soon. The lawyers are leaving for lunch, too. (UPDATED to include information on jury’s instructions.)
With the jury in the Tom DeLay money-laundering trial struggling with how to apply Texas’ money-laundering law, the judge overseeing the former U.S. House majority leader’s trial just told jurors they will have to figure it out themselves.
State District Judge Pat Priest told the six-man, six-woman jury that the instructions they were given earlier about the law DeLay is charged with violating must govern their deliberations.
One juror laughed quietly after Priest gave jurors his answer.
I've seen many a jury come back with a verdict immediately after lunch or dinner. I always figured they wanted one more free meal on the county's dime.
I was on jury for a bail jumper one time. We had already convicted him for that and were meeting again to determine the sentencing (we could give him anywhere from the minimum to maximum term). We wanted to know if he would serve any time if he was sentenced to the minimum or would they credit him with “time served” while waiting for his bail jumping case to come to trial.
The judge told us we would have to determine the sentence without hearing that answer.
Additionally the prosecutor jeopardized the case by disclosing the in trial what he was accused of (which we were not to know in determining the bail jumping case).