The trial of two men accused in the fatal shooting of a transgender woman in the District was halted Monday after defense attorneys said the government may have improperly influenced a juror.
The defense attorneys said Saunders suggested that his fellow prosecutor remind the juror that there are other options available to prosecutors outside of prison, such as probation. The attorneys argued that any perception by the juror that prosecutors were showing leniency in her son’s case could result in her favoring the government in this case.
“The juror might be sympathetic to the prosecutors based on the case involving her son,” said Brandi Harden, who represents defendant Jolanta Little.
It was not clear whether the other prosecutor approached the juror, but officials from the U.S. attorney’s office said in court that there was no indication that the woman’s role as a juror was influenced.
Lee said he would alert both sides Tuesday morning about whether he would take any action and whether the trial would proceed.
Dodds, who authorities say worked as a prostitute, was shot July 4, 2016, during what prosecutors said was a series of robberies carried out by four men.
Little, 28, of Southeast Washington and Montee Tyree Johnson, 23, of Upper Marlboro, Md., are charged with first-degree murder while armed, robbery, conspiracy and other offenses.
During the trial, the key testimony came from two brothers who have admitted to roles in the crimes. Defense attorneys argued that the brothers, who have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, lied about Johnson’s and Little’s involvement in hopes of a lighter prison sentence.
On Monday, as the three-week trial was nearing its conclusion, jurors were sent to a jury room as attorneys argued in court over Saunders’s communications with the other prosecutor.
“This is prosecutorial misconduct,” Kevin Irvin, Johnson’s attorney, told Lee.
Lee asked the attorneys on both sides whether they wanted to bring the juror into the courtroom to question her. All the attorneys said they feared that would prejudice the juror, especially if she was not contacted.
Saunders did not respond to the allegations in court. He and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed Baset, his co-counsel in the trial, sat in the first row of the audience.
David Gorman, head of the homicide unit for the U.S. attorney’s office, and his deputy, Sharon Donovan, argued that there was no evidence that Saunders’s interaction with his colleague reached the juror.
“There is no evidence that the conversation had any influence or impact on the jury,” Gorman told the judge. Gorman argued that the trial should move forward.
The U.S. attorney’s office alerted the defense attorneys about the issue Sunday evening in an email.
William Miller, the public information officer for the U.S. attorney’s office, said the office would not comment because the issue is pending.