Legal Commentary

Blagojevich Jury: Who's The Foreman

By Jeralyn

I'm hearing that the jury foreman in the trial of Rod Blagojevich and his brother Robert Blagojevich is #135, described by Time Magazine (which doesn't state he's the foreman) as:

Juror 135: Japanese-American male, senior citizen. He was born in California's Manzanar internment camp in 1944, where many Japanese Americans were imprisoned during WW II. The retired former videotape librarian served as a Marine in Okinawa and is a Vietnam veteran. His wife was a Chicago public-school teacher. He once served on a jury that reached a verdict. He said that he considers all that he's heard before the trial on the Blagojevich case — on both sides — to be hearsay.

Robert Blagojevich has a distinguished military background. Maybe, if the foreman doesn't like hearsay (and remember, the government didn't call Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine, Jesse Jackson, Jr. or Rahm Emanuel) he won't credit what others said about them. Robert did testify, and by the accounts I've read, was very credible.

One thing I haven't seen much reporting on is how the individual jurors reacted to the testimony and closing arguments. That may be because so few reporters were in the actual courtroom, as opposed to the media overflow room, which just had audio. So it's too soon to say whether Juror #135 as foreman gives either brother a boost, but it could be a good sign, particularly for Robert.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on July 30, 2010 (boomark / email).