Scrushy Jury Told to Start From Scratch

After 16 Days of Deliberations, Alternate Juror Takes Place of Ill Panelist

The judge overseeing the fraud case against HealthSouth Corp. founder Richard M. Scrushy yesterday dismissed an ill juror and replaced him with an alternate, effectively restarting deliberations after 16 sometimes tense days.

U.S. District Judge Karon O. Bowdre instructed the jury to "start anew." Jurors will return to the Birmingham courthouse today to continue their discussions.

The juror switch is merely the latest twist in an already peculiar five-month-old case. In an unusual move, the judge allowed the panel to set its own schedule when deliberations began May 19. The talks have been punctuated by frequent interruptions. Jurors have taken off three sick days, two days because of prepaid vacations, two more days for unspecified emergencies or commitments, and one holiday.

The judge defended the schedule yesterday, saying from the bench that jurors "have placed their lives on hold," forsaking time with family, sick relatives and medical appointments in an effort to reach a verdict. Court officials said the new jury had decided to meet from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time. Previously the group had worked only 5 1/2 hours each day.

Both sides in the case said they think the new jury, composed of five whites and seven African Americans, can render a fair verdict.

"It's always a good thing when they go back through the evidence," U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin said.

Defense lawyer James W. Parkman III told reporters that replacing the sick juror with an alternate "was the best thing to do right now."

The ill juror, an older white man, is an Army veteran who told lawyers during jury selection that wealthy people can afford better lawyers.

Whether the presence of the new juror, an African American man, will help break a stalemate is far from clear. Before yesterday's developments, jurors sent multiple notes signaling they were having trouble reaching a unanimous verdict. The last such note came June 3. Bowdre responded by firmly urging the panel to work hard and avoid the expense of a new trial.

Scrushy faces three dozen criminal charges tied to a $2.7 billion accounting fraud at the Birmingham rehabilitation hospital company. He is the first chief executive to stand accused of violating the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires top executives to vouch for the accuracy of their books. That charge alone carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Scrushy denies the charges and argues that he was deceived by subordinates who plotted to enrich themselves and cover poor business decisions.

Legal experts said that excusing a juror in the middle of deliberations is rare, but not unprecedented, in high-profile criminal cases.