Judge Declares Mistrial In Buju Banton Drug Trial After Hung Jury
After deliberating for part of the day on Thursday, all day on Friday, and part of the day today, the juror foreman in the Buju Banton drug conspiracy trial in Florida, told the presiding judge that the 12-member jury panel was split evenly (guilty vs. not guilty), and that they were unable to reach the unanimous decision that was required to find him either guilty or not guilty. The judge asked them to keep trying, and then again, at around 3 p.m. today, the panel said it was hopelessly stalled. With that, the judge granted a defense motion and declared a mistrial.
A declaration of a mistrial generally means that the court must hold a retrial on the same subject. [*source - Wikipedia]
According to reports, the new date for Banton’s trial should be some time in December. In the meantime however, Banton’s lawyer has made an application for bail for his client, and was told that the court will receive (hear) the application tomorrow.
Detailed highlights of today’s court proceedings are available at these resources:
Associated Press – Judge declares mistrial in Buju Banton drug case
Jamaica Observer – Buju’s lawyer confident to win re-trial
TampaBay.Com – Mistrial declared in drug conspiracy case against Buju Banton
TBO.Com – Judge declares mistrial in Banton drug case
[...] A mistrial was declared recently in Banton’s drug conspiracy trial, and it is expected that his new trial date will be in December. In the meantime, the prosecution is vigorously seeking to prevent bail being granted, alleging that Banton is a flight risk (would try to leave the country) if bail was granted. He has been in Federal custody since December 2009. // Tags for this item / article: Buju Banton · Buju Banton Bail · Buju Banton Jail [...]
[...] Buju Banton’s 9th studio album [Amazon | iTunes], which was ironically released the day after the judge declared a mistrial, and it’s also the aptly titled name of the upcoming show which features Buju Banton himself, [...]
[...] drug conspiracy charges has been set. The retrial will begin on Valentine’s Day, February 14. A mistrial was declared during Banton’s first trial in September (after jurors were unable to reach the unanimous decision that was required to find him either [...]