Judge Tells Jurors in Racketeering Trial of Ironworkers' Boss, "You Must Deliberate''
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The jury in the federal racketeering trial of former Philadelphia ironworkers' boss Joseph Dougherty got a talking-to today from the judge overseeing the case.
The flurry of activity at the US District Courthouse began when the jury foreman sent a note to Judge Michael Baylson.
Judge Baylson, without disclosing the contents of the note, called the jurors into the jury box and gave them a stern warning that they "must deliberate." He said it was their sworn duty as jurors to engage in bona fide deliberations of the case.
Baylson, in explaining later why he was not disclosing the contents of the jury's note, cited a previous case in which a juror was removed from a panel "for cause." In that case, the juror was replaced with an alternate before deliberations resumed. There are four alternates standing by, in a separate location, in this case.
Last week, the judge denied one juror's request to be excused, but there was no immediate indication if today's developments were related.
Joseph Dougherty, the former head of Ironworkers Local 401, is accused of using violence and intimidation to force contractors to hire union ironworkers. Several other members of the union have pleaded guilty and are testifying at Dougherty's trial.
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