The verdict followed nine days of deliberations and hours of confusion.
Just after 2 p.m., the jury sent a note that, according to U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Eagles, said: “We have finished our deliberations and arrived at our decision on counts one through six.” Eagles assumed that meant that the jury had reached a verdict and seemed surprised later in the courtroom when the foreman said that they had not.
Word that a verdict had been reached sent reporters and trial
participants racing into the courtroom, eager to hear the conclusion.
The anticipation quickly turned to confusion, though, as it became clear
that there was not, in fact, a verdict to be read.
