Disgraced Illinois governor could walk
<p>Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich leaves the Federal Courthouse on Wednesday in Chicago. Jurors in Blagojevich's corruption trial have sent a note to the judge suggesting they may be deadlocked on some counts.</p>
CHICAGO (AP) - A new message from the jury weighing the fate of Rod Blagojevich provided a few clues Thursday about their deadlock in deliberations, stirring speculation that the panel's struggles could be good news for the disgraced former governor of Illinois.
In a note read in court by Judge James Zagel, jurors said they had only managed to agree on two of 24 counts against Blagojevich and had not even begun discussing 11 of the counts.
The jurors did not say which two of the 24 counts they had agreed on, nor what their decisions were. The judge instructed them to go back and continue their work, which they planned to do Monday after taking today off.
Their message raised questions: Did some jurors have misgivings about the prosecution's case? Might some of them have dug in their heels against the majority? Or were they simply confused?
"It's a victory for the defense for several reasons," said Douglas Godfrey, a law professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law, arguing that the way the government had presented its case was extremely complex. "If the jury hangs on 22, it's a big blow to government."
Michael Helfand, a Chicago defense attorney not involved in the case, agreed Blagojevich had good reason to be thrilled.
"This jury has been deliberating for such a long time, the chances of someone changing their mind now aren't good," he said.
As Zagel read the jury note to a packed courtroom on the 12th day of deliberations, Blagojevich and his co-defendant brother listened intently, sitting at the edge of their chairs. After the hearing adjourned, Blagojevich smiled in a huddle with attorneys. He put his arm around wife Patti's shoulder.
Blagojevich did not comment after the hearing, but at least one of his attorneys, Aaron Goldstein, suggested that the latest word from jurors could be good news for his client.
"I think there's a lot of cautious optimism," he said.
For their part, prosecutors appeared worried - standing together after the hearing to discuss the implications of the note. They did not comment as they left the courtroom.
Not everyone thinks the note is necessarily good news for the defense.
Daniel Coyne, another Kent professor, said no one knows what the two counts are that have been decided, or how the jury decided on them.