Sunday, April 1, 2001
Volume:
17
Issue:
4
141
Abstract:
On March 1, 2001, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Apeals heard oral argument on the conviction of D.C. lawyer Michael Abbell, the first director of the Office of International Affairs, Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Miami lawyer William Moran.
During the hearing Judge J.L. Edmondson said he was troubled about the dismissal of a holdout juror Olga Alfonso. U.S. District Judge William Hoeveler, who was presiding over the retrial of a case that previously ended in a hung jury, dismissed Alfonso from the panel after he interviewed jurors individually and found Alfonso could no longer deliberate. Simultaneously with her dismissal Judge Hoeveler denied a request to reread a defense witness’ testimony and told the jury to continue its deliberations. Ironically, Hoeveler later threw out the 11 member jury’s racketeering conviction for lack of evidence…[more]