(Update: I have more details about the juror and the request for the mistrial… be sure and check back on Wednesday for the scoop.)
Remember the big deal which was the alleged misconduct that eventually resulted in the disappearance of Jenkens Gilchrist? We could see the writing on the walls when Jenkens agreed to pay a civil penalty of $76 million and cooperate with the IRS and the feds in exchange for the firm not being prosecuted? We all knew what that meant: individual members of the firm were going down. And they did. Seven tax professionals (though I use that term loosely) were indicted in 2009 for their roles in the scheme. When the case eventually went to trial, it was considered the largest tax fraud prosecution in U.S. history (well, after this one fell apart).
So yeah, kind of a big deal.
Last year, at least four of those indicted (Paul M. Daugerdas, Donna M. Guerin, Denis M. Field and David Parse) were convicted for their roles in the scheme after a three month trial, ending what was a pretty sordid chapter in the history of tax shelters and tax fraud.
But maybe not so fast.
Yesterday, U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III ordered a new trial for Daugerdas, Guerin and Field after finding that a juror had tainted the trial. Pauley referred to the juror as a “pathological liar” who lied in order to get onto the jury. Apparently, she had a beef against attorneys, calling most of them “crooks” and wanted to see them punished.
She must have really, really hated attorneys to agree to give up three months of her life to see those she didn’t even know successfully prosecuted. Most folks try to stay off juries (which I am not recommending), not lie to get on them.
As a result of the juror’s behavior, three of the defendants will be entitled to a new trial. Parse will not get a new trial because the juror’s misconduct was known to his lawyers before trial and they didn’t inform the judge (ouch).
So what’s going to happen to the juror? Pauley is calling for her to be prosecuted for perjury. And well she should. She has disrupted the lives of scores of folks for her own personal vendetta. It’s sad and stupid – and, in my opinion, criminal.
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