Litigation

Mistrial Declared in Hal Turner Case

By Jennifer Pfanzelt

With jurors deadlocked 9 to 3 in favor of acquittal for Hal Turner, a radio personality accused of threatening three federal judges, the case was declared a mistrial on Monday. A retrial was scheduled for March 1.

The three-day trial of Harold C. Turner (left) was expected to take a week, and was cut short when prosecutors did not include some evidence they had planned to bring against Turner, according to a New York Times article.

The prosecution brought testimony by six federal agents, but did not call the three threatened judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit: Frank Easterbrook, Richard Posner, and William Bauer. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan explained that “evidentiary rulings shaped our trial strategy.”

Prosecutors included a variety of statements made by Turner about the judges such as “they deserved to die,” and “I intend to incite revenge.” Turner also posted pictures of the judges, their phone numbers, work addresses, and a map of the courthouse they work in. Turner was allegedly responding to the judges’ decision to uphold a handgun ban.

Defense attorneys argued that Turner was not only protected under the First Amendment, but that he was also an FBI informant on radicals who followed his blog and radio show and could become violent.

Judge Walter has maintained the gag order on Turner prohibiting him from Internet communications until after his retrial. For other Gavel Grab posts on this story click here.

Full post as published by The Gavel on December 08, 2009 (boomark / email).