Latest update December 10th, 2024 1:00 AM
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Jury still out on Simels verdict
Gerald Shargel, Simels’s lead attorney in front of Brooklyn court (Marcel Leonard photo)
There are indications that the jury in the case involving Robert Simels and his assistant Arianne Irving in Brooklyn, New York may still be sitting tomorrow, Friday. Yesterday was the second full day without a decision.
The 12-member jury began sitting on Monday.
Yesterday, the matter resumed at 9:00 hours and the jury continued, as they did the two prior days, to request extracts of the transcripts of the direct and cross examination of witnesses as well as comments by Robert Simels himself.
Among the pieces they sought was the legal explanation ‘doe dominion’ with reference to the possession of the eavesdropping equipment.
One aspect of proving guilt is to prove that the defendant had “constructive possession.” According to the charge delivered by Justice John Gleeson, “constructive possession arises when a person has the power and intention to exercise dominion and control over an object.”
By noon the jury was in the nearby park for a breather after which they continued their deliberations.
Judge John Gleeson told the defence and prosecuting teams that the two alternate jurors would be excused but not discharged.
One of the two alternate jurors’ serving day was fast approaching, thus the decision. But the judge made it clear that they could be recalled should the need arise.
By afternoon and with more than half a dozen such requests for documents and clarifications from the jury, members of both the defence and prosecuting teams were seen pacing the corridors, chatting with colleagues or were overheard calling their respective offices.
For the defendants, famed NY attorney Robert Simels and his associate Attorney Arianne Irving, each had their core supporters, as has been the case since Monday.
Simels had his wife and other relatives while Irving had her friends.
While they joked, most of the interactions were what seemed earnest conversations as their supporters hugged or patted them on the shoulders or shook hands.
In the courtroom, the defendants seemed anxious when certain pieces of evidence were requested by the jury while in some cases both the defence and the prosecuting teams found the request amusing at times, but they complied dutifully to locate the requested items.
By afternoon Justice Gleeson was requested to respond to a question on the payment for information. He told the two groups that he would handle that request today when the court resumes. He intimated that the jury could continue to sit until Friday of this week based on their deliberations so far.
Robert Simels, who represented self-confessed Guyanese drug dealer Shaheed Roger Khan, found himself on the other side of the bench when the US Government brought charges against him and his associate, Arianne Irving. They both are charged with witness tampering, multiple counts of attempt at witness tampering, importing eavesdropping equipment and possession of such equipment, bribery and in Simels’s case, uttering a falsehood to a US Government official.
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