* Oy…
A juror at the trial of convicted powerbroker William Cellini has stormed out of a Chicago federal courtroom yelling, “Leave me alone.” The outburst came Friday afternoon after a round of heated questioning from Cellini defense attorney Dan Webb.
Candy Chiles is being questioned at a hearing that was called after it was discovered she lied during jury selection. Chiles said she didn’t have any criminal convictions, but she pleaded guilty in the 1990s to drug possession charges and in 2008 to DUI charges.
Cellini’s attorneys say Chiles’ convictions disqualify her from jury service. They are seeking a new trial.
Judge James Zagel chastised Webb for “provoking” Chiles and suggested Webb change his tone to be less hostile. Webb denied using a hostile tone.
According to the AP, Judge Zagel has called a recess. I’ll update if anything big happens or if we get more details.
*** UPDATE *** Tribune…
“You’re trying to see if I’m a liar so you can get him off?” juror Candy Chiles, a 50-year-old daycare provider, asked as her voice choked with emotion. “Leave me alone! Leave me alone!”
After the judge called an immediate recess, Chiles quickly walked out of the courtroom, shaking her head and muttering about the defense team.
It was her third blowup at Cellini’s attorney, Dan Webb, during his pointed, hour-long examination, which centered on whether she knew she was being untruthful when she told the court she had not been arrested or convicted of a crime. In fact, she has two felony convictions and another arrest on her record.
“Do not do me like this. Do not do me like this,” she said. “I am not a criminal. I didn’t steal anything … damn you.”
She has a point.
[ *** End Of Update *** ]
* From earlier today…
A juror who didn’t disclose her felony record while being selected to sit at the trial of Springfield power broker William Cellini told a federal judge today that she didn’t reveal her 2000 drug conviction because she had put the incident behind her.
“It’s in my past. I never mention it at all, that foolishness in my life,” Candy Chiles, a 50-year-old daycare provider from the South Side, said at a hearing in federal court.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel — who did not order background checks on potential jurors before the high-profile trial — is holding a hearing today to determine if Chiles’ equivocations denied Cellini a fair trial. She also did not tell the court about a felony DUI conviction in 2008 and an assault arrest in 1994. […]
Zagel said Chiles hadn’t been truthful in her answers to the court during jury selection.
“I think it’s pretty clear…you did not give complete answers to these questions,” the judge said. “In a way, you did not follow the instructions of the court to answer truthfully.”
