Defense attorneys for Mayor Sheila Dixon renewed their request for a mistrial today, saying the 27 hours of jury deliberations that have passed so far shows that the theft and embezzlement case against her is too confusing.After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Dennis M. Sweeney rejected the mistrial request at about 11:15 a.m.
As the request was being considered, the jury delivered its first substantive note in more than a day. Juror No. 11 asked for a transcript of testimony from three key witnesses in the case: developer Patrick Turner; and two city employees who received gift cards from the mayor, Edward Anthony and Mary Pat Fannon. Turner bought gift cards and delivered them to City Hall at the mayor's request, prosecutors say. Anthony (a housing department employee who is the mayor's boyfriend) and Fannon received one gift card each from the mayor, according to testimony.
Dixon is accused of stealing gift cards intended for needy families.
Her defense attorneys objected to what they called a slippery slope of allowing the jury review testimony, with attorney Dale P. Kelberman asking "are we going to watch the State v. Dixon movie?"
Prosecutors, however, had no problem with the court providing video recordings of the testimony on a DVD. Sweeney called for a brief recess, and said he wanted to examine whether it would be "technologically possible" to provide such a recording to the testimony.
In asking for a mistrial, Kelberman said the jury has "an impossible task" and must play the roles of "legal" and "Talmudic" scholars. Kelberman noted that some counts against Dixon were dismissed in the middle of the trial, meaning they could be confused by what evidence is admisable.