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NEW YORK (AP) — Deliberations will resume Monday at the federal corruption trial of former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver after jurors failed to reach a verdict on Wednesday.
"Enjoy the weekend," the smiling Silver told several courtroom artists and journalists as he left the Manhattan federal courtroom.
Jurors deliberated for about two hours before adjourning around noon for the long holiday weekend.
The break came a day after deliberations began in the trial of the 71-year-old once-powerful Democrat on charges that he traded his influence to earn $5 million through kickbacks over more than a decade. Silver, who did not testify, insisted through lawyers that the government was trying to criminalize longstanding practices of Albany legislators.
Shortly after deliberations started Tuesday, a juror claimed in a note that she was being bullied by other jurors and asked to be relieved from the panel. At the end of the day, she asked in another note to meet with U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni.
Caproni told jurors Wednesday that it was inappropriate for her to meet with one of them.
"The secrecy of jury deliberations is a cornerstone of our jury system," Caproni said.
She also urged them to be respectful of one another's viewpoints.
"Each juror is entitled to his or her opinion and no juror should give up a point of view that the juror conscientiously believes based on the evidence, the facts and the law simply because the juror is outnumbered," Caproni warned.
To reach a verdict, jurors must sift through evidence provided by 25 witnesses and scores of documents. Prosecutors tried to show that millions of dollars Silver received in legal fees and other payments were actually bribes and kickbacks for favors he did for a cancer researcher and real estate developers.
The defense countered that Silver, a lawyer, did not commit a crime and was entitled to earn income outside of his legislative duties.
Silver resigned his leadership post after his January arrest but held onto his Assembly seat. If convicted, he could face decades in prison.
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Associated Press Writer Tom Hays contributed to this report.
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