CALIFORNIA BRIEFING

A juror who was held in contempt of court for contacting the defendant’s sister during the rape trial of celebrity fashion designer Anand Jon Alexander was fined $1,000 Monday and sentenced to 120 hours of community service.

Alvin Dymally admitted he had acted in contempt of court. The judge found that Dymally had given his telephone number to Alexander’s sister before the verdict and spoke to her on two occasions when she called him from a pay phone. He apologized to the judge, saying he meant no disrespect to the court, but did not explain his actions.

Alexander’s attorneys had seized on the juror’s actions and asked Judge David S. Wesley to throw out the guilty verdicts. Wesley ruled in July that although the juror was guilty of misconduct, the contact did not affect the verdicts. Alexander was sentenced last month to 59 years to life in prison on 16 counts of rape, sexual assault and other crimes.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said it is evaluating whether to file criminal charges against Dymally. Alexander’s sister, Sanjana, has also been cited for contempt of court and is scheduled to appear before Wesley later in the week.

-- Jack Leonard