Web Post Raises Question Of Jury Bias In Trial Of State Rep. Bob Allen
POSTED: Wednesday, November 7, 2007
UPDATED: 2:48 pm EST November 7,
2007
VIERA, Fla. -- A comment posted in a story chat on the Web site of Local 6 News partner Florida Today created questions on Wednesday about whether one or several of the jurors are biased against state Rep. Bob Allen.
Allen is accused of offering $20 to an undercover officer to perform oral sex on him.
With the jury out, Brevard County Court Judge Oscar Hotusing notified the court of the story comment.
In it, the person who posted the comment claimed that a friend is on the jury and said the jurors either knew something about Allen or were planning to go home and look up the case online.
Hotusing has ordered jurors to avoid all news coverage of the case.
The poster wrote "from what i could get out of her he sounds like he is done for before it even starts."
Defense attorney Greg Eisenmenger said he and his colleagues will have to seriously consider the allegation.
"Obviously, we can't ignore it. If true, this is a serious jury misconduct," he said to a group of journalists during a break in the trial. "On the other hand, I don’t put any credence into these blog entries."
He also questioned the allegation against the jurors.
"I really can't believe any of these people have that kind of agenda," he said.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
Copyright 2007 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and
Local6.com.
All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.