North Loses Plea for New Trial Based on Juror’s Conduct

A federal district judge refused Friday to grant a new trial to former White House aide Oliver L. North, saying North had offered no proof that his conviction last May was biased by a juror’s alleged misconduct.

As a result, North’s sentencing is expected to proceed on Wednesday as scheduled. North, convicted on three of 12 felony counts for his role in the Iran-Contra affair, could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined as much as $750,000.

North was found guilty on May 4 of altering and destroying top-secret documents, helping to mislead Congress and illegally accepting a $13,800 home security system as a gift.

Withheld Information

The juror, Tara Leigh King, had failed to disclose that members of her family had been charged with crimes and that she had been questioned by a grand jury in connection with the investigation of a brother who was convicted of armed robbery.

In a questionnaire, the 34-year-old copy machine operator had answered “no” when asked whether she or any member of her immediate family had been involved in any court proceeding or investigation. At a hearing Wednesday, King said she had forgotten the incidents.

North’s sentencing initially had been scheduled for June 23, but U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell postponed it to allow the hearing into questions that North’s attorneys raised regarding King’s fitness as a juror.

Gesell noted Friday that King had voted to acquit North of many of the felony counts against him.

“King was not biased for or against either side,” Gesell wrote in his nine-page order. “No proof was presented indicating that King was unfair or that she failed in any way to serve conscientiously.”

Gesell wrote that King had been “distressed over (her brother’s) conviction and the family was embarrassed. She may well have felt it would prevent her being considered for jury service. Her omission was knowing, but she had no desire to help or to hurt North or the prosecution.”

King admitted also that she had used drugs on occasion but insisted that she quit using them several months before the trial and never was under their influence during the proceedings.

In a related development, Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) announced Friday that he and 58 other House members plan to ask President Bush to pardon North. They plan to make their appeal at a news conference after North’s sentencing.