THE MENENDEZ TRIAL: Vicarious on Election Day
NEWARK – Sen. Bob Menendez is not up for re-election for another year, but he was on the ballot today anyway, in front of a constituency of 12 inside a jury room on the fourth floor of the federal courthouse.
Unlike the candidates in today’s election, who will likely know their fate before the sun rises Wednesday, Menendez left court today with yet another “to be continued…” hanging over his head.
On the first full day of deliberations in the senator’s corruption trial, there was little action aside from an odd jury question and a request from jurors to leave half an hour early.
“Judge Walls,” began the jury’s question, attributed to Juror #2, “would you please let us have the closing remarks of (Menendez attorney) Mr. (Abbe) Lowell.”
As a footnote the juror asked for the “definition of a senator.”
In court, Lowell and the prosecution agreed that Lowell’s nearly three-hour closing could not be read back to the jury, since opening and closing arguments are not classified as evidence.
The jurors were summoned to the courtroom for their answer around 3:30 p.m. Judge William Walls told jurors they should rely on their “individual or collective memory of what was said” during Lowell’s closing Monday.
And rather than giving jurors a civics textbook or a copy of “Schoolhouse Rock,” Walls told them to consult their jury charge to define what a U.S. senator is.
As an afterthought, the jurors who were set to deliberate until 4:30 p.m. passed a message to the judge through his court clerk: can we leave at 4?
With keeping the jury happy more vital now than ever, none of the attorneys disagreed.
Menendez arrived at the courthouse this morning, but was not in the courtroom or hallway for most of the day as reporters, security officers and courthouse staff tapped away on their devices or memorized floor tiles. Menendez returned with his son Robert Menendez Jr. in tow just before jurors filed into the courtroom to listen for the answer to their question.
In a damp and chilly rain, Menendez left court this afternoon ducking under an umbrella and responding to shouting reporters with the repeated stock phrase he’s confident the jury will find him not guilty. Menendez reached his idling car and driver, shepherded his daughter into the backseat, folded up his umbrella and got in on the passenger side.
Then, he was free to live vicariously through the Election Day triumphs of others.
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