After Long Deliberations, Sick Juror Holds Up Bobby Ferguson Trial

Category: Breaking News Published on Tuesday, 19 June 2012 12:17 Written by Huffington Post

The defense in the Bobby Ferguson bid rigging trial got what it wished for earlier on: another African American on the jury.

Trouble is, the juror came at the wrong time -- in the middle of jury deliberations, when defense lawyers suspected the outcome may be going their way.

An alternate juror, an African American male, was added to the mix today to replace a white, male juror who was dismissed from the case due to a heart issue. U.S. District Judge David Lawson just told the prosecution and defense that he spoke to the juror's doctor, who told him in "strong terms" that the man should not resume jury deliberations in the case, in which Ferguson and two others are charged with rigging bids to help Ferguson's company win a nearly $12-million contract for a low income housing project.

The new juror could potentially throw a wrench into the entire case.

The prosecutors wanted to add the alternate juror into the mix, but the defense objected to adding a fresh juror after more than 15 hours of deliberations over two days. The defense had previously argued there weren't enough African Americans in the jury pool, and, wanted to scrap the current jury to pick a new one from a more diverse jury pool. Lawson, though, denied the request.

The panel of 12 jurors, which has nine white individuals, and three African Americans, has spent more than 15 hours deliberating the case since last Friday.

The defense lawyers declined to comment on the latest jury development. One defense lawyer, David Steingold, would only say: "We wish the excused juror well. He stuck it out as best he could and we all appreciate it," Steingold said.

The four alternate jurors have not been present at deliberations. Lawson will question the new juror at 12:30 p.m. to make sure he hasn't been exposed to any media coverage of the case, or, discussed the trial with anyone.

Jurors went home at 5:30 p.m. Monday without making a decision. Defense lawyers suspect deliberations could be going in their favor given a question the jury asked on Monday.

Twice during deliberations Monday, the jury sent a note to the judge asking for clarification about what constitutes "government and government agencies," and whether local, state and federal governments are covered in the indictment charging Ferguson and two others.

Ferguson and codefendants Michael Woodhouse and Calvin Hall are accused of running a bid-rigging scheme to help Ferguson's company win a nearly $12-million contract for Garden View Estates, a low-income housing project in Detroit. They have denied the charges.

On Monday, the jury asked to rehear the testimony of a key government witness: Ferguson's longtime associate Shakib Deria. He testified Ferguson asked him to lie and claim ownership of a gun that federal agents found in Ferguson's safe. Deria said he obliged.

Jurors will be read a copy of Deria's testimony at some point, although that remains unclear now that a new juror has joined the group.

Ferguson also is charged with illegally dumping debris on the Garden View Estates site and then billing the government to clean it up. In addition, he faces money laundering and weapons charges.

The jury started deliberating on Friday after hearing closing arguments from both sides.

Prosecutors argued evidence presented by dozens of witnesses in the monthlong trial told a story of greed and arrogance by Ferguson, Woodhouse and Hall. They also said Ferguson had access to the highest levels of government -- in this case former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick -- and used it to help himself land lucrative contracts.

According to trial testimony, Ferguson got into the housing project through a company called Xcel Construction Services, which acted as the construction manager and then steered more than $9 million worth of demolition and other work toward Ferguson. Prosecutors said Ferguson not only ran Ferguson Enterprises, but also was the boss at Xcel. Ferguson has denied running Xcel.

The defense challenged the government's evidence and the credibility of some key government witnesses, saying their testimony was bought and paid for -- especially Ferguson's codefendants, who cut deals in the case and agreed to testify.

Rodney Burrell and Brian Dodds testified under plea deals that they submitted phony bids at the behest of Ferguson, and he promised them work in return for their cooperation and silence.

Jurors, who have deliberated now for more than 15 hours, went home at 5:30 p.m. Monday without making a decision. They will return this morning.

Twice during deliberations Monday, the jury sent a note to the judge asking for clarification about what constitutes "government and government agencies," and whether local, state and federal governments are covered in the indictment charging Ferguson and two others.

Ferguson and codefendants Michael Woodhouse and Calvin Hall are accused of running a bid-rigging scheme to help Ferguson's company win a nearly $12-million contract for Garden View Estates, a low-income housing project in Detroit. They have denied the charges.

On Monday, the jury asked to rehear the testimony of a key government witness: Ferguson's longtime associate Shakib Deria. He testified Ferguson asked him to lie and claim ownership of a gun that federal agents found in Ferguson's safe. Deria said he obliged.

Jurors will be read a copy of Deria's testimony this morning.

Ferguson also is charged with illegally dumping debris on the Garden View Estates site and then billing the government to clean it up. In addition, he faces money laundering and weapons charges.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120619/NEWS01/306200001