- Another Mistrial
For the second time, the case against Harold Turner has ended in a mistrial, with the defense claiming victory. In January, a federal jury in Chicago couldn’t agree on whether the controversial online radio shock jock should be found guilty for threatening posts about three federal appellate judges, including the prominent Richard Posner, who had upheld a Chicago gun ban. This week, a jury in Brooklyn (to where the case was moved) also failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Unlike the first trial, the three judges from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals testified that they felt threatened. The jurors spent about 2-½ days deliberating after four days of trial. The prosecutors are currently weighing whether to pursue a third trial.
Turner’s team argued that he was a former FBI asset and that his handlers had encouraged him to post racist and hateful information in order to draw out extremist groups. The New York Law Journal story has some interesting tidbits on the defense lawyers, whom turner apparently wants to fire for overcharging him. One is Michael Orozco of Bailey & Orozco in Newark, N.J., who was born in Puerto Rico, the other is Chicago solo Nishay Kumar Sanan, who is Indian. Sanan handled a very similar case a few years back, U.S. v. White, successfully defending a white supremacist who made online threats. The appeal of that case came before a 7th Circuit panel featuring Posner. However, when on the stand during the Turner trial, Posner told Sanan he didn't remember meeting him during the previous case.
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| 07:40 AM Mar 11, 2010 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
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