CHICAGO
- The north elevator lobby of the 21st floor at Chicago's federal
courthouse is nicknamed "Camp Ryan," and it got unusually full
Thursday.
Reporters
and producers waiting on a verdict in the racketeering trial of
former Gov. George Ryan congregate in the windowed nook, which
has rows of upholstered steel benches. The spot - resembling a
mini-airport terminal - is prime real estate to gawk at jurors
as they arrive or emerge from a back hallway to take breaks or
to go home for the day.
Things
have come to a virtual standstill after weeks of the closed-door
deliberations. To help kill time, members of the media read books
such as "Helter Skelter," "Manhunt" and "The Blood Knot." They
tell jokes of questionable taste, quiz each other about details
in the Ryan case and occasionally play cards or Scrabble. They
bring in pungent carryout dinners from places like Chicken Planet
and La Cocina and eat from their laps. A trash canister overflows.
Back
to Thursday. Some observers noted that two of the women jurors
showed up that morning dressed very nicely - an indication, perhaps,
that a verdict was imminent. The speculation leaked onto a Chicago
news radio station, and a jury consultant was interviewed (yes,
the expert agreed, jurors tend to dress nicely on verdict day
because of all the attention). The buzz was on: A verdict was
imminent that day.
The
Chicago papers sent in reinforcements, and additional television
crews set up in the main courthouse entrance. Would Ryan and his
businessman friend, Larry Warner, be convicted or acquitted of
corruption charges? The media stood ready to break the news.
Then,
at 11 a.m., one of the other women jurors was seen clad in a tank
top, jeans and sneakers - hardly someone ready for her close-up.
Hours
passed, hopes faded. At 4 p.m., a crowd of journalists watched
the jurors trickle out to leave for a three-day weekend. Thankfully,
though, the six-man, six-woman jury left a note to the trial judge
asking for a witness transcript. Reporters could actually report
on something.
For
another perspective about the jury stakeout that never ends, check
out "Trial of the Century?" the blog of NBC5 reporter Phil Rogers,
at www.nbc5.com/news/4995704/detail.html.
Mistrial
happens... in another case
U.S.
District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, who is overseeing the Ryan case,
declared a mistrial last week - in another trial.
This
one, a drug-conspiracy trial, ended shortly after it began. Pallmeyer
called a halt to the proceedings Tuesday after a prosecutor improperly
told jurors that one of four defendants had spent time behind
bars. She hoped to move ahead with a new jury, but defense attorneys
decided to petition the appellate court upstairs in hopes of getting
the charges dismissed.
In
March, Pallmeyer flirted with the idea of ending the six- month
Ryan trial after two jurors were found to have lied about their
backgrounds. Instead, she replaced them with two alternate jurors
and ordered the reconstituted jury to start fresh.
PALLMEYER
PRAISED
The
51-year-old Pallmeyer, a University of Chicago Law School alum,
got high marks in an evaluation released last week by the Chicago
Council of Lawyers.
"Judge
Pallmeyer is considered to be very smart, to understand complex
matters, and to have an excellent temperament," the council, which
surveyed attorneys, said.
But
some lawyers offered "comments regarding (her) indecisiveness,"
the evaluation said. "These lawyers indicated that she can take
time to make a decision and sometimes changes her mind after further
argument."
The
new chief judge of the federal district in Chicago, James Holderman,
did not fare so well. The council assessed that Holderman, who
had a well-publicized spat with the U.S. attorney's office in
2004, has good legal abilities but has exhibited temper flare-ups
in court.
The
council said Holderman promised to "keep a copy (of the evaluation)
in my desk as a daily reminder of where I can improve." He assumes
his leadership post this summer.
LOOKING
AHEAD
The
Ryan jury is expected to return today to the Everett M. Dirksen
U.S. Courthouse. The revamped panel has deliberated for six days
so far.
Copyright
© 2006, Copley News Service.