Jury One-Vote Away From Acquittal of Judge Davis

The jury considering the misdemeanor battery case against San Diego Municipal Judge Joseph K. Davis is one vote away from acquittal, the jury’s foreman inadvertently revealed in court Thursday.

The foreman blurted out the information in response to a question from Superior Court Judge James Edmunds, who was inquiring about the jury’s deadlocked deliberations.

Edmunds asked the foreman the numerical order of the deadlock and told him not to reveal whether the jury’s vote favored guilt or innocence.

But the foreman replied that the jury had voted 11-1 for acquitting Davis on the charge of beating his pregnant girlfriend. The judge then asked the jury--which began deliberations Thursday--if more time would help break the deadlock. The jurors agreed to try again today to reach a verdict.

Earlier in the day, the jury listened to a reading of Davis’ testimony, which took about an hour and a half. The jury resumed its discussions, but half an hour later reported to Edmunds that it was deadlocked.

Davis, 41, is accused of hitting and kicking his girlfriend, Anna Monica Garcia, 24, in November at the Tierrasanta town house they shared. Since then, however, Garcia has recanted her story about the beating, and she has not attended the trial.

Davis testified that he confronted Garcia after he had been told she was seeing a former boyfriend. After he told her he was moving out, Davis said, Garcia became enraged and attacked him.

Davis’ attorney has painted the judge as the innocent victim of a “spurned, emotional lover.” Judge Edmunds has described the case as a “Peyton Place” episode.