Jurors Critique Lawyers After Guilty Verdicts in Gang Racketeering Trial
Federal jurors who convicted six of seven MS-13 gang members in a San Francisco racketeering case on Tuesday gathered after the trial to assess the lawyers’ work.
Jurors joked about Assistant U.S. Attorney William Frentzen’s “pimp walk” and the way he introduced himself, the Recorder reports. His greeting—“Hi, I’m Wil Frentzen, I work for the government”—would be a good pickup line, two jurors said.
One juror described as “a chatty, spiked-haired man” praised a defense lawyer for a dramatic closing argument, complete with closing whispers, though another juror said it really didn’t make a difference. Another juror criticized a defense lawyer who “scolded us” during the closing, and praised a different defense lawyer who didn’t remind them of their duty during closing.
Jurors also wanted to know why defense lawyers couldn’t make their clients behave. Two defendants talked during the trial, and some of them stared and glared at jurors. One female juror complained, “Every single one of us got an ‘I’ll kill you if I see you on the street’ ” look.
