LOCAL : No Pre-Yule McMartin Verdicts, Judge Assures Worried Jurors
The judge in the marathon McMartin preschool molestation trial responded to the worries of deliberating jurors today by agreeing to withhold verdicts until the panelists return from Christmas vacation.
Three jurors told Superior Court Judge William Pounders they feared that friends, neighbors and co-workers might put pressure on them about their decisions if some of the verdicts were to be announced before they leave Dec. 15 for a two-week recess.
The jurors are considering 65 separate charges against Raymond Buckey, 31, and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, 63, who are accused of molesting children at their family owned preschool in Manhattan Beach.
The judge originally planned to announce the verdicts piecemeal, figuring it could take months before all of the decisions are submitted.
His plan was motivated by the fact that no verdict is final until it is announced in court, and with no alternate jurors remaining, a loss of even one of the 12 deliberating jurors before the finale could invalidate the verdicts that had been reached.
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