Judge Upholds Astor Convictions

Anthony Marshall, Brooke Astor’s son, and lawyer Francis Morrissey asked a judge to throw out their convictions because of a confrontation between jurors. On the ninth day of deliberations, one juror yelled at a holdout juror, scaring her.

Justice Bartley denied the motion to vacate the convictions, claiming that the altercation “did not rise to the level of juror misconduct,” and that all the jurors were still able to deliberate fairly. The convictions associated with tricking Mrs. Astor into altering her will still stand, but an appeal is expected.

See James Barron, Convictions in Astor Case are Upheld, N.Y. Times, July 29, 2010.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (WealthCounsel) for bringing this to my attention.