Castroneves Jury Reaches Partial Verdict
The Miami Herald reports that the jury in the case of former Indy car driver, Helio Castroneves, who is charged with several counts of tax evasion, has reached a partial verdict as to two of the counts against the Brazilian race car driver, but were deadlocked over the remaining five counts. The jury also said that they have reached a unanimous verdict on one charge against his sister/manager, but were deadlocked on the remaining six counts. Finally, the jury informed the judge that they have reached a verdict on all four counts against Alan Miller, Castroneves, former attorney.
The judge, as detailed here, has given a number of supplemental jury instructions in answer to the jurors questions during deliberations. I’ve always thought that complexity is the enemy of truth, but it seems that this case is truly complex. The jury has struggled with a number of issues throughout its deliberations and in response, the court has supplemented its original instructions, which, quite frankly, seems to add to the confusion.
The Herald reports that the judge has given the jury an Allen charge urging them to reach a verdict and has kept the partial verdicts under seal. Deliberations continue into Thursday afternoon
