Joe Carollo lawyers allege juror tampering at federal trial

[ad_1]

Lawyers for Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo are trying to invalidate the federal case brought against the commissioner by two Miami contractors by seeking a mistrial.

In a motion filed Tuesday morning, attorneys for Carollos called on Judge Rodney Smith to declare a mistrial after a juror reported they were approached in a parking lot by one of the plaintiffs’ business partners and that they were asked to search for Carollo on social media.

At that point, the man approached Juror 3 and said: You have to go on social media, on the internet, and see that people have been followed and you have to see what this defendant is capable of, indicates the query. He goes on to say that Juror 3 informed other jurors of the interaction, and they encouraged the person to report it to the judge.

According to the motion, Juror 3 identified the individual who approached them as Zack Bush, co-owner of the Ball & Chain bar in Little Havana and associate of William Fuller.

Fuller, along with business partner Martin Pinilla, sued Carollo in federal court, alleging the commissioner abused his municipal position to harass and target their properties, including Little Havana’s popular Ball & Chain bar, after supporting a political opponent.

Carollo denied any unscrupulous behavior, while his lawyers argued that any actions he took fell within his jurisdiction as city commissioner.

READ MORE: Former City of Miami manager testifies to ‘terrified’ city staff of Joe Carollo

Jurors were instructed at the start of the trial not to speak to anyone about the case outside of the courtroom and not to watch any media relating to Commissioner Carollo or the plaintiffs.

In the motion, Carollos’ attorneys accuse Bush of juror tampering. Attempting to influence a juror in a court proceeding may in some cases be considered juror tampering, which is a third-degree felony in Florida.

Jeffrey Gutchess, one of Fuller and Pinillas’ attorneys, raised concerns with the judge about the mistrial motion during Tuesday’s proceedings. Gutchess said the defense had already raised the issue on Monday and discussed it with the judge privately, and Justice Smith allowed the trial to continue.

Raising the case in a motion filed in a publicly available court filing, Gutchess alleged that the defense compromised the case by opening the issue to the media.

Justice Smith said he would deal with the grievance later, but said the trial would continue on Wednesday. He asked the jurors to continue to avoid any media related to the case, commenting that you have all assured me that you have done so until now.

Bush, who had previously attended the trial as a member of the public, was not present in the courtroom on Tuesday. Bush did not respond to calls, texts and voicemails from WLRN seeking comment on this story.

[ad_2]