Juror in Astor Trial Claims that She Voted to Convict Out of Fear for Her Safety

Defense attorneys are seeking to overturn the convictions of Anthony D. Marshall and Francis X. Morrissey, Jr., after a juror from the trial has announced that she voted to convict out of fear for her safety:  

• The juror, Judith DeMarco, alleges that on one occasion another juror threatened her with gang signs, menacing movements, and assertions that she once dated a member of the gang the Latin Kings.  
• Defense attorneys argue that their clients were deprived of a fair trial because the judge in the case failed to address the issue after being notified that one of the jurors felt threatened.
• Additionally, emails from the jurors evidence that they orchestrated how to portray their deliberations.
• DeMarco may suffer from credibility issues, however, because she made prior statements evidencing a belief that the evidence supported the convictions, she did not sign the affidavits obtained by defense attorneys out of fear of scrutiny, and another juror has characterized her as a drama queen.

See John Eligon, An Astor Juror Says Her Fear Dictated Vote, NY Times, Feb. 21, 2010; see also my prior posts regarding Brooke Astor’s estate and the trial of Marshall and Morrissey.

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this to my attention.