By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
The six-man, six-woman jury in the United States of America versus Paul Perrotti trial in federal court in New Haven sent a note to the judge at 11:30 Wednesday morning that said, “We cannot agree on all of the elements.” Each of the the three charges against Perrotti, Middlebury’s former fire chief, has five elements, and the jury must agree on all five of the elements in order to find Perrotti guilty.
When juries can’t agree, a mistrial can be declared by the judge. Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, however, wasn’t willing to let the jury off so quickly. He told the attorneys he was not inclined to give up on deliberations at this time and had them review some written suggestions for the jurors he had prepared. After some discussion with the attorneys, he called the jury back into the courtroom.
Meyer noted the jurors had been deliberating a little more than one day – all day Monday and approximately 3 hours Wednesday (because they had Tuesday off) compared to the seven days it took for the trial. He said he wanted them to continue their deliberations. “Sometimes further consideration of the evidence can change your mind,” he told them.
He then asked them to continue their deliberations, assuring them if ultimately they cannot agree, it is all right not to agree and reminding them his initial written charge to them still applied. The jurors returned to their deliberations.
Shortly before 4 p.m., they sent a note to the court saying they wished to end the day’s deliberations at 4 p.m. and resume deliberating Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. The judge granted their request and dismissed them for the day.
