Ito Subpoenas Juror Dismissed Last Week

The dismissed O.J. Simpson juror who predicted a hung jury and charged that black panelists were treated unfairly by sheriff’s deputies was ordered to appear in Judge Lance A. Ito’s private chambers on Wednesday, a court spokeswoman said Monday.

Jeanette Harris was served with a subpoena Saturday from Ito, who began an investigation into alleged juror misconduct after Harris’ live TV interview last Wednesday, just hours after she was dismissed from the jury.

Harris was ordered to appear at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the judge’s chambers for a private session, said court spokeswoman Susan Yan. Yan declined to comment on what Ito wants to discuss with Harris.

Harris, a 38-year-old employment consultant, told KCAL-TV Channel 9 that she and other panelists had been allowed unsupervised conversations with people not on the jury and that some jurors might be talking about the case among themselves. In addition, she said the jury was dividing along racial lines, and she accused Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies of promoting racial division among the jurors.

If true, those allegations could result in further dismissals of jurors. Six members have already been dismissed, leaving just six alternates.

Harris was ousted for withholding information about a domestic violence complaint she filed against her husband.