Juror Ousted After Saying Wiretap Case is a ‘Joke’ Because No One Died
A juror in a celebrity wiretap case has been dismissed after ridiculing the prosecution of a lawyer and the private investigator he hired.
California lawyer Terry Christensen and PI Anthony Pellicano are accused of conspiring to wiretap the former wife of billionaire Kirk Kerkorian in a child custody dispute.
The jury foreman told U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer of Los Angeles that Juror No. 7 should be dismissed because he is anti-government, the Daily Journal reports (sub. req.). According to jury notes sent to the judge, the juror said defendants should be allowed to wiretap because the government does it, and he maintained that individuals aren’t required to pay income taxes. The juror also asserted the case was a joke. “What’s the big deal?” the juror reportedly said, according to an Associated Press account. “Nobody was killed.”
Fischer dismissed the juror yesterday after he denied making the remarks, despite confirmation by five other jurors. He was replaced with an alternate.
