Lawyers Consider Appeal, Citing Pressure on Jurors

NEW YORK, Dec. 26 -- A judge's decision to keep a stymied jury deliberating for 12 hours just days before Christmas could be grounds to overturn a manslaughter verdict against a black man convicted of shooting a white teenager, criminal defense lawyers said Wednesday.

The lawyers, who are not involved in the case, criticized Suffolk County Judge Barbara Kahn's unusual Saturday-night session for the Long Island jury that convicted John White, 54, in the encounter outside White's home.

Two jurors have said they had been leaning toward acquitting White but changed their votes after Kahn ordered jurors to keep deliberating Saturday night and indicated they would return on Sunday if they did not reach a verdict.

"They probably felt the judge was saying, 'Go along with the other jurors, or you're not going to get out of here,' " said one lawyer, Ed Hayes.

He and fellow lawyers Gerald Shargel and Gerald Lefcourt said it appeared that undue pressure was put on jurors. They said that they were surprised by the extended deliberations for the jury, which sent notes twice saying it was deadlocked, and that the judge's actions could present grounds for appeal.

A telephone message left at Kahn's chambers was not returned Wednesday. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office also did not respond to a request for comment.

Judges are traditionally given wide latitude to obtain verdicts from deadlocked juries. New York state's criminal code allows deliberations to be suspended for only a day, unless a weekend or holiday occurs. Attorneys in the case said that some jurors had said they had plans to leave town for Christmas on Sunday or Monday.

Saturday was the fourth day of deliberations after a four-week trial for White, who said he feared for his family's safety when he brandished a gun in front of an angry group of white teenagers gathered outside his Miller Place home. White, 54, was convicted of shooting 17-year-old Daniel Cicciaro Jr. to death on Aug. 9, 2006.

The jury told Kahn it was deadlocked on Friday afternoon; she told jurors to return Saturday. After they deliberated for more than 11 hours and sent out another note saying they could not agree, Kahn asked jurors to keep talking and indicated she would schedule deliberations on Sunday, with time off for religious services.

Many jurors appeared near tears; one began rocking back and forth with his head in his hands. The jury returned a guilty verdict an hour later.

Juror Francois Larche has said he had been holding out for an acquittal but decided with another juror to change their votes because of pressure from the judge and hostile fellow jurors.

White's attorneys are considering a post-trial motion to set aside the verdict because of juror misconduct.