No verdict yet for lawyer accused of sex crimes with minor. What’s happening in jury room?
After three days of deliberating, the jury in the closely watched Jennifer Walters sex crime trial has yet to reach a verdict — but don’t read too much into that, said veteran defense attorney David Mugridge.
Mugridge, who has handled many jury trials, said three days of deliberation for a big trial with multiple charges, like the Walters case, is not unusual.
“But if you get past five days, there may be a holdout,” said Mugridge, who is not connected to the case.
Adding to the angst over not having a verdict is that the jury won’t return to the courthouse until Wednesday. One of the jurors had a prior commitment.
This is also not a simple case.
Walters, an attorney who handles child dependency cases, is charged with 15 felony counts of having sexual contact with a minor. The alleged victim, who is now 20 years old, testified during the trail that he and Walters began an illicit four-year relationship when he was 13 years old.
The 42-year-old Walters has denied there was ever a sexual relationship and has accused the teenager of rape. She and her attorney Mark Broughton said the teenager concocted the entire relationship to deflect from the accusation of raping Walters.
The teenager, however, was never charged with sexual assault and the allegation was made after Walters’ arrest in 2019.
If Walters is convicted on all counts, she could be sentenced to a maximum of 24 years in prison.
During the trial, prosecutor Kaitlin Drake relied heavily on a bounty of 4,000-plus instant messages between the teenager and Walters to prove they were illegally having sex. Jurors were shown numerous slides showing the messages.
For experienced jurors, Mugridge said, they have an expectation of what type of evidence will be presented during the trial. For many others, however, serving as a juror is a new experience and at times can be overwhelming.
“Most people are sitting there watching the evidence come in and sometimes they are numb to it,” said Mugridge, a certified criminal law specialist. “Sometimes they write notes because they think it is important and they may need to come back to it. Others are sitting there like sheep, not sure of what evidence is important until the trial is done. Then they go back and ask for a read-back of the testimony because they know what they are looking for.”
The jurors in the Walters trial have asked for portions of the testimony to be read back to them.
Also at play, Mugridge said, is the credibility of the defendant and the alleged victim and whether the prosecutor presented the evidence necessary for a conviction on each count.
Mugridge said it is not unreasonable for a jury to not unanimously agree on each and every count.
And if it comes to a point where the jury reports it is deadlocked, the judge can request that the jury go back to deliberating in the hopes they come to a resolution.
Teen’s family keeps watch
Since the start of the trial on Sept. 13, several members of the teenager’s family have been present in the courtroom. They moved to the hallway after the jury began deliberating on Oct. 4.
About 10 family and friends sat on the cement benches outside of Department 54 in the county courthouse, waiting for any news. After two days of sitting and waiting, Superior Court Judge Jeff Hamilton told the family they didn’t have to wait in the hallway. He would give them 30 to 45 minutes to get to the courthouse once the jury has a decision.
