Jurors Excused, Cause LaRouche Mistrial

A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in a conspiracy case against political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. after excusing four jurors who complained about the length and conduct of the trial.

Prosecutors vowed to retry the case against LaRouche, six aides and five LaRouche organizations as soon as possible. But defense lawyers said they would argue that the mistrial was the government’s fault and that a new trial would violate their clients’ right to only one trial on the charges.

LaRouche, 65, and the others are charged with conspiring to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation into allegations that LaRouche’s 1984 presidential campaign reaped more than $2 million through credit card and loan fraud.

The trial, which began in December, was proceeding slowly when testimony was all but halted two months ago for hearings on whether prosecutors had withheld evidence from the defense.

Testimony Resumes

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Keeton told the jury not to report to court during those hearings, but last week decided he had to resume testimony and would continue the hearings in the afternoon.

But when jurors returned on Monday, several complained they had been told the trial would last only six months and that continuing through the summer would pose hardships.

Defense lawyers sought to have five jurors excused because of their complaints. Keeton, over the objections of Assistant U.S. Atty. John Markham, excused four of the five.

“I find that it is clear that these four jurors will be unable to continue to serve as fair and impartial jurors after mid-July,” Keeton said. “There is not the slightest possibility that we will complete this trial in that time.”

Lacking Two Jurors

The judge then had no choice but to declare a mistrial because there were only 10 jurors remaining and court rules require at least 12, unless both sides agree to continue with fewer. Defense lawyers refused to do so.

If Keeton orders a new trial, defense lawyers said they would appeal to the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorneys for both sides said the earliest a new trial could begin would be in the fall.

LaRouche spokeswoman Dana Scanlon said that during 1987 and the first two months of 1988, a LaRouche organization called the Constitutional Defense Fund had spent more than $2 million in legal fees and administrative costs on the case. Markham declined comment on the government’s costs.

LaRouche, a candidate for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, contends that evidence was fabricated by FBI and CIA plants in his organizations as part of a Reagan Administration plot to ruin him because he opposes aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.