PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Priest Abuse Trial Blog
Ralph Cipriano
It’s getting strange down at the courthouse, folks.
After a 10-week trial, the jury in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia sex abuse case has decided they need some time off for family events, like graduations. So on Thursday, after Judge M. Teresa Sarmina approved their request, jurors walked out of Courtroom 304, to get an early start on a long weekend.
The jury of seven men and five women that began deliberating last Friday afternoon are off this Friday. On Monday, they’ll be coming in around 1 p.m. and hopefully put in a full afternoon, before they are scheduled to leave around 4:30 p.m. On Tuesday, they’re expected to deliberate again, but Wednesday, they’re off, and Friday they’re off again.
So if they go the full route on Tuesday and Thursday, the jury will deliberate at most 2 1/2 days next week.
Usually, juries measure their time in terms of minutes and hours, and can’t get out the door fast enough. But this jury seems to be digging in for the long haul. They’ve already ordered a marker board and an easel. Lunch today was from Chick-fil-A. This could take a while.
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