Former Stevens Juror Ordered to Court

A federal judge yesterday ordered a juror in the corruption trial of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to appear in court Monday to answer questions about why she has not responded to phone calls from court officials since she was dismissed for a reported family emergency.

The juror, identified only as juror No. 4, told court officials Oct. 23 that her father had died in California and that she needed to rush there to help with arrangements. U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan halted jury deliberations for a day and replaced the juror with an alternate Monday morning.

The jury convicted Stevens later that day of seven felony counts of lying on financial disclosure forms to hide receipt of about $250,000 in gifts and renovations to his Alaska house. No sentencing date has been set.

Stevens, one of the most powerful Republicans in the Senate, is in his home state campaigning for reelection for a seventh full term.

Sullivan wrote in yesterday's order that the juror must appear at an 11 a.m. hearing to answer questions about why she has not returned messages left by him and other court officials from Oct. 24 through Wednesday.

Legal experts said that whatever Sullivan turns up at the hearing should have little effect on any appeal filed by Stevens. However, if the juror was not truthful about her reasons for leaving the panel, she could face disciplinary action from the judge, they said.

The juror's dismissal came after another juror apparently caused problems for the panel. Just hours after jurors received the case Oct. 22, the foreman sent a note to the judge asking if all jurors could go home for the day because conditions had become "stressful."

The next day, the foreman sent a note asking that a juror, identified as No. 9, be dismissed because she was directing "violent outbursts" at other members of the panel and refusing to follow laws and rules during deliberations.

The judge did not dismiss that juror, but gave the panel a "pep talk" about acting civilly.