Hayat jury foreman set for scrutiny-Lodi California Terrah case

[AlCzervik]

Source: The sacramento bee

By Denny Walsh - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Saturday, March 24, 2007

In a development that could be the first step toward a new trial for a Lodi man convicted of terrorism, U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on Friday ordered a hearing on an allegation concerning the jury foreman in the 2006 trial.

The hearing will look at evidence concerning another juror's allegation that jury foreman Joseph Cote repeatedly made a "hangman gesture" in discussions with jurors during the trial of Hamid Hayat.

Burrell set the hearing for April 6, before a hearing already scheduled for that day on a motion for a new trial filed on behalf of 24-year-old Hayat.

Burrell wrote in Friday's order that he has not yet decided whether the hearing will also cover post-trial statements the jury foreman made to a reporter at The Atlantic magazine.

Any questions prosecutors and defense attorneys have for Cote on the two subjects must be submitted in writing to Burrell no later than Thursday, according to the order.

In their motion for a new trial, defense attorneys Wazhma Mojaddidi and Dennis Riordan cite a statement by juror Alicia Lopez that Cote "demonstrated a disqualifying bias" when he repeatedly made a "hangman gesture" and once said "hang him" in discussions with other jurors.

But prosecutors S. Robert Tice-Raskin and Laura Ferris responded in their opposition to the motion that the allegations "are vague and ambiguous and do not constitute substantial evidence that (Cote) was actually biased against the defendant."

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/101/v-print/story/143279.html

---

This is a good one to keep an eye on, we've been hearing about this this foreman ever since the verdict.