Shoshanna Utchenik
ticklethewire.com
Jury deliberation drags on for an 8th day in ex-presidential hopeful John Edwards’ corruption case.
The jury must decide whether $925,000 in gifts, used to cover up Edwards’ extramarital affair with Rielle Hunter, was merely social capital, or illegal campaign contributions… and they must decide whether Edwards understood them as such.
The jury has been deliberating since May 18, sifting through 17 days of testimony from 31 witnesses, reports the L.A. Times. However much of the testimony in this high-profile case was less lurid than Edwards’ affair and focused on forensic examinations of bank transactions, and scrutiny of campaign finance laws.
The former vice-presidential candidate and presidential hopeful could face a maximum of 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted on all six counts against him. But these high stakes are not ruling the mood in the court, which doesn’t seem to be in any hurry.
As graduation season arrives, many of the jurors have been allowed to wag the dog as U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagle adapted the deliberation schedule to their family calendars.
Reporters have not come up with any theories regarding an apparent fashion statement: the four alternate jurors all wore yellow on Thursday, red on Friday, and on Tuesday, they wore gray and black.
But decoding that secret message ought to kill some time as the bored spectators wait for a verdict.
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