Jury deliberations in the Bobby Ferguson public corruption trial in downtown Detroit hit a major bump today.
U.S. District Judge David Lawson dismissed a sick juror in the morning and had to seat an alternate in the afternoon, forcing jurors to start deliberations all over again. The problems surfaced on the third day of deliberations.
Interestingly, two of the defense attorneys wanted to proceed this morning with just 11 jurors. Defense Attorney Anthony Chambers, who represents co-defendant Michael Woodhouse, argued in court that the seating of a new juror would delay a verdict, plus potentially change the dynamics of deliberations, according to court spokesman Rod Hansen.
The prosecution told the judge it was surprised that the defense opposed seating an alternate considering the new person is African American. The defense complained during jury selection that there was a dearth of African Americans on the panel.
In the afternoon, the judge decided to seat the alternate and let the 12-member jury proceed with the new deliberations.
Ferguson and two co-defendants are charged with rigging a $12 million bid with the city. Ferguson is also charged with being a felon in possession of a gun.
