Wild Day for McDougal: Juror Brings Lawbook

In a wild day at Susan McDougal’s trial, a judge abruptly halted jury deliberations after a juror brought a law book to the courthouse. But, after concluding that no jury tampering occurred, the judge told the panel to resume its work this week, skirting a mistrial.

Deliberations were frozen after a court clerk seized the juror’s book, which had belonged to former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice John I. Purtle, an acquaintance of McDougal, her ex-husband and President and Mrs. Clinton.

U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. initially planned to seek an FBI probe into possible jury tampering. He changed his mind after questioning juror Michael Nance and Purtle, who sold his house to Nance in 1997.

“I left some books, and no doubt this is one of them,” Purtle told the judge and lawyers for both sides. Purtle’s business card was found in the book that Nance carried into the jury room.

In separate questioning by the judge, Nance said he found the book in a room of the house he bought from Purtle through a real estate agent.

Howard ruled that Nance “has not communicated with any third party . . . and has not considered any factual matters or evidence extraneous to the case.”

Kenneth Starr’s prosecutors wanted Nance dismissed, but McDougal lawyer Mark Geragos urged that all 12 jurors be kept on or he would ask for a mistrial. Ruling that Nance would remain, the judge told the jurors to resume their deliberations Monday.

It is possible to continue a federal trial with only 11 jurors if the defendant doesn’t object.

McDougal is accused of two counts of criminal contempt and one count of obstruction for refusing to testify before a grand jury convened in the independent counsel’s investigation of the Clintons. The jury began deliberations Thursday in the monthlong trial.

Starr prosecutor Mark Barrett said that Nance appeared to have improperly engaged in “self-help,” using the book to assist in deliberations.

Purtle’s law book on state and federal court rules has in it handwriting and a highlighted portion saying prospective jurors shall receive instructions explaining legal terminology.

Nance may have brought the law book to the jury room out of frustration. Jurors had asked Howard to clarify certain legal terms, but the judge responded by referring them to their written instructions.

The jurors wanted to know if they could find there was an “innocent reason” for McDougal to have refused to answer grand jury questions in 1996 and 1998 in Starr’s probe.

McDougal says she refused to testify out of fear that Starr would charge her with perjury unless she falsely implicated the Clintons in wrongdoing.

Purtle said he knows McDougal and Clinton, and he worked with Hillary Clinton on a legal case in the early 1990s before she became first lady. He said he’s had no contact with Nance and has no connection to the McDougal trial, but feels strongly that McDougal shouldn’t be prosecuted.