Scrushy Jury Can’t Agree
Jurors in the corporate fraud trial of fired HealthSouth Corp. Chief Executive Richard Scrushy told the judge Tuesday that they couldn’t reach a verdict and needed an explanation “in layman terms” of a key conspiracy count.
In messages to U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre on the fourth day of deliberations, the jury said her instructions seemed contradictory regarding the conspiracy count, which encompasses allegations of fraud, false corporate reporting and false statements to regulators.
Scrushy is accused of conspiring in a nearly $2.7-billion earnings overstatement scheme at the medical rehabilitation and services chain.
The judge met in private with lawyers after recessing the jury deliberations for the night.
In its handwritten note, the jury said: “We cannot unanimously agree on a verdict. We need an explanation in layman terms. We would like your explanation in private if possible.”
Jurors later said their uncertainty concerned count one, the conspiracy charge that could have implications for the other 35 counts now being deliberated.
The judge said a private meeting wasn’t possible “because the parties, who have a vested interest in the case, have the right to be present whenever I communicate with you about the case.”
The notes marked the second time the jury had raised the possibility of a deadlock in written messages to the judge. Last Friday, the jury requested clarification of the conspiracy charge, and asked what would happen if it couldn’t decide that count unanimously. The judge didn’t answer but urged the jury to keep trying.
After the jury’s latest messages, U.S. Atty. Alice Martin said outside court in Birmingham, Ala., that the judge would provide the jurors with an answer today. She called the 36-page verdict form that the jury must fill out “very complex.”
Defense lawyer Art Leach said the case was complicated and “the potential for confusion is unlimited.” He said it was too early to tell which way the jury was leaning based on the questions.
Jurors got the case last week after hearing dozens of witnesses over 3 1/2 months.
The jury is deliberating the first 36 counts against Scrushy. The panel will deliberate 12 additional counts if Scrushy is found guilty in the first phase.
Scrushy is the first chief executive charged under the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reporting law. He also is accused of conspiracy, fraud, false reporting and money laundering.
Prosecutors claim that Scrushy led a huge fraud at HealthSouth from 1996 through 2002. The defense blames the accounting scheme on his subordinates, including 15 former executives who pleaded guilty.
