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BOSTON --A judge refused to grant a mistrial Monday for a defendant who punched a juror as other jurors watched in court. Richard Glawson, 46, is on trial in Suffolk Superior Court for a list of charges stemming from a crime rampage in 2001 that allegedly included shooting a Dedham police officer in the hand. On Friday, as jurors were filing out of the courtroom at the end of the day, Glawson punched an elderly male juror in full view of the 15 other jurors hearing the case. The punch knocked the juror to the floor, but he was not...

THIS IS AN OLD STORY; A MISTRIAL WAS JUST DECLARED! But this story has the basic facts:

(AP) LOS ANGELES A hung jury has forced a mistrial in lawsuits by two men who blamed their heart attacks on Merck & Co.'s once-popular painkiller Vioxx. The two cases were tried together before a Los Angeles jury that deadlocked when they reached the third question on a lengthy verdict form. The jury did answer "yes" to the first two questions, finding that Vioxx did have potential risks or side-effects that were known or knowable and that they presented a substantial danger to users of Vioxx. The third question asked if the plaintiffs' physicians would have recognized the potential risks...

SANTA ANA, Calif. - Jurors were unable to decide Friday whether to impose the death penalty on two convicted leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang, prompting a mistrial in the matter and giving the men life in prison. The same jury convicted Barry "The Baron" Mills and Tyler "The Hulk" Bingham in July. Jurors were then asked to determine whether the two should be sentenced to death or life in prison without possibility of parole. After 3 1/2 days of deliberations, they told the judge Thursday they were deadlocked, but he ordered them to return to the jury room...

A judge refused to declare a mistrial Tuesday in the case against a prominent University of Southern California geneticist accused of molesting the daughter of a colleague over a five-year period. Superior Court Judge Michael E. Pastor made the ruling after defense attorneys unsuccessfully argued against the introduction of e-mail exchanges between William French Anderson, known as the father of gene therapy, and his accuser. Anderson, 69, is charged with one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child under age 14 and three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors claim...

Residents in this Central Valley town had hoped to set aside the suspicions that divided them in the 11 months since federal agents arrested a young man, his father and two Muslim religious leaders amid terrorism allegations. But the government's chief prosecutor said Wednesday that the investigation is continuing - a day after a federal jury convicted 23-year-old Hamid Hayat of providing material support to terrorists by attending a training camp in Pakistan in 2003 and lying about it to the FBI. U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott is considering seeking a new trial for Hayat's father, Umer, 48, after a separate...

[Updated 3:59 p.m. Tuesday] Hamid Hayat, the 23-year-old Lodi man on trial for terrorist-related activities in Sacramento federal court, was found guilty Tuesday, just hours after a mistrial was declared in the related trial of his father, who was accused of lying to the FBI to cover up for his son. Hayat was found guilty of providing material support to terrorists by allegedly attending an al-Qaida camp while visiting Pakistan in 2003 and three counts of lying about it. He faces up to 39 years in prison if convicted of all charges against him.

A mistrial was declared Tuesday in the federal terrorism trial of a Lodi man charged with lying to protect his son, who authorities say attended an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan. The announcement came one day after the jury told U.S. District Court Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. that it could not reach a unanimous decision. "Their jury declared that it was hopelessly deadlocked this morning," deputy court clerk Carol Davis said. Burrell questioned each member of the jury and then discharged them, she said. Umer Hayat, a 48-year-old ice cream vendor, is charged with lying to FBI agents about...

The News & Observer Tom Farris had previous heart problems, according to a friend. RALEIGH, N.C. (April 21) - A defense lawyer was arguing a drunken driving case when he fell on the courtroom floor and died of an apparent heart attack, officials and friends said. Bailiffs and a police officer tried to administer CPR immediately after 57-year-old Tom Farris collapsed Thursday in the Wake County courthouse. Emergency personnel arrived less than six minutes later.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Gambino crime family scion John A. "Junior" Gotti dodged a legal bullet for the second time in eight months Friday when a federal jury deadlocked on racketeering charges against him, leading to a mistrial. U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin excused the jury after they said they were at an impasse despite less than two full days of deliberations. Prosecutors quickly said they intended to try Gotti, 42, for a third time.

John "Junior" Gotti, who insists he quit the mob family run by his late father, the "Dapper Don," watched jury selection start yesterday at his racketeering retrial in Manhattan. One prospective juror was quickly disqualified: a former supervisor of the FBI's organized crime squad. The most serious charge facing Gotti is the 1992 kidnapping of radio host Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime-fighting group, who allegedly was targeted by "Junior" Gotti because of his on-air rants against the late John Gotti.

MARTINEZ, Calif. (AP) - A judge declared a mistrial Monday in the murder case against a woman defended by prominent lawyer Daniel Horowitz, whose wife was slain over the weekend. Contra Costa County Superior Court Judge Laurel F. Brady cited excessive news coverage of the homicide of Pamela Vitale when she dismissed jurors in the case of Susan Polk, who is accused of stabbing her therapist husband. "Ladies and gentlemen, it would have been hard to miss, despite my admonitions," Brady told the jury. "I have reached the conclusion at this juncture that it is not possible to continue the...

The jailed son of late mob boss John Gotti neared freedom on Monday after a judge agreed to release him on $7 million bond, less than a week after declaring a mistrial on the bulk of his racketeering case. Under bail conditions approved by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin, John A. ``Junior'' Gotti would be released from a federal lockup in lower Manhattan, but remain under house arrest in his home on Long Island until a possible retrial early next year. Gotti, 41, was still in custody Monday as paperwork was finalized. His lawyers said he could be home with...

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - Some observers in the Scott Peterson murder trial are speculating that jurors are close to a deadlock. They were summoned to the courtroom yesterday where the judge asked them to consider changing their opinions in order to reach a verdict. After that the jury asked to review some pieces of evidence including an anchor found on Peterson's boat. Prosecutors allege he used similar type of weights to dump his pregnant wife's body into the San Francisco Bay. Jurors also asked to look at transcripts and recordings of telephone calls between Peterson and his mistress, Amber...

Just on MSNBC. Mistrial declared!

NEW YORK (March 29) - Jurors have described their deliberations in the trial of two former Tyco International executives as ''poisonous'' and ''irreparably compromised.'' The judge has called their notes to him ''disturbing'' and seems to be leaning toward a mistrial. Nonetheless, Judge Michael J. Obus concurred with jurors' request to return to work Monday morning, even after they wrote Friday that they had ''ceased to be able to conduct respectful, open-minded, good-faith deliberations.'' Obus must decide whether to keep pushing jurors to overcome what they have described as an atmosphere of animosity that has dominated the jury room in...

Mistrial Declared After Juror Drinks Beer Thu Mar 18,12:24 PM ET WHEELING, W.Va. - An Ohio County Circuit judge declared a mistrial in a drug case after a juror was seen drinking a beer during a lunch break. Judge James Mazzone said Tuesday he would schedule a new trial for William "Willie" Mayfield, 20, of Wheeling, who is charged with possession with intent to distribute both marijuana and crack cocaine, obstructing an officer and battery. Mayfield is free on bond. Mazzone said the juror, whom he did not identify, had been seen drinking a beer during the lunch recess at...

Some legal experts criticize ruling on 11-member juries ASSOCIATED PRESS December 02, 2002 FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - Some legal experts are criticizing the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' recent ruling that judges are required to conduct trials with fewer than 12 jurors in certain situations. In a 6-3 decision released last month, the court ruled that a criminal court judge must proceed with 11 jurors if one dies or is declared unable to serve after being empaneled. Previously, judges could decide whether to permit the remaining jurors to hear testimony and render a verdict or to start over...

<p>Judge declares mistrial after jurors react to graphic photograph Published 12:30 a.m. PDT Friday, SAN DIEGO(AP) - A photograph of a brutally beaten grandmother affected jurors in a murder trial enough for the judge to declare a mistrial.</p> <p>One juror broke down in tears after seeing the emergency room photo of Emily McAllister, 86, with tubes taped to her nose and mouth, her face swollen and bandages on her body.</p>

Lawyer Christopher T. Cicero has been having trouble keeping clients lately. On Friday, a judge removed him from a death-penalty case because the state plans to call Cicero as a witness against his client. Yesterday, he was accused of striking a different client during an argument in the courtroom about which witnesses to call in the man's murder trial. Although the jury was not in the courtroom at the time, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge John P. Bessey declared a mistrial and said he will report Cicero's conduct to the Ohio Supreme Court's Disciplinary Counsel. Witnesses said Cicero might have...