A juror's complaint about the actions of other jurors during the federal corruption trial of  two Levy County commissioners has been brought to the attention of the judge.

Attorney Gloria Fletcher filed a motion on Feb. 25 notifying federal District Judge Stephan P. Mickle that the unnamed juror approached her son saying the jurors discussed the case while outside the courtroom at lunch and some had made up their minds on the verdict before hearing all the evidence.

Commissioners Sammy Yearty and Tony Parker were convicted on Dec. 5, 2009, of conspiring to solicit and accept a bribe from an undercover FBI agent posing as a New Jersey-based developer. Yearty was also convicted of lying to FBI agents during an interview about influence peddling in Dixie County.

The juror approached Fletcher's son in the parking lot of a Publix store on Newberry Road in Newberry and “expressed concerns over other jurors discussing the case outside the  courtroom on lunch breaks and certain conversations indicating the jurors had made an ultimate opinion as to the guilt of the Defendants before all parties rested their respective cases,” according to Fletcher's motion.

Because the Northern District, which includes Levy County, does not have a rule governing contact with jurors to determine potential misconduct, Fletcher filed the motion asking for permission to interview the juror becauser such misconduct, “would have serious implications  for the fairness of the proceedings and give rise to a doubt that the Defendant was afforded his Constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury.”

    In addition, Yearty's attorney Rod Smith has asked Mickle for permission to locate, contact and participate in an interview of the juror making the allegation.

    In response, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McMahon said while he concurs in Fletcher's motion notifying the court of the contact by the juror, he opposes any attempt to locate and interview the juror. He said the Federal Rules of Evidence bar jurors from testifying “as to any matter or statement occurring during the course of the jury's deliberations.”

    McMahon also said the Fletcher and Smith motions do not fall under the three exceptions to the rule:  when extraneous prejudicial information is brought to the jury's attention, when there is undue influence (jury tampering) or when there is a mistake in entering the verdict on the verdict form.

    He also cites a 1987 case from the same district, Tanner v. United States, that upheld denial of a hearing into a juror's allegations of alcohol use, drug abuse, and the sale of marijuana between jurors. The district court's ruling was upheld by the federal Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court.

    McMahon said for those reasons Mickle should deny the interview requests.

    In another matter, Mickle has delayed Yearty's April 5 sentencing May 3 because Smith will be in state court for another trial at that time. But the judge kept Parker's sentencing on the April date.

    Pre-sentencing investigations of both men have been completed, according to letters filed with the court.