A second emergency hearing has been called in Corrine Brown's federal corruption trial after a day of dramatic turns Wednesday.
Corrine Brown, her attorneys and prosecutors arrived at the federal courthouse Thursday morning for an emergency hearing. Attorneys were also there representing another media outlet that might have gotten "overzealous" in its coverage. A gag order is in place in the case.
The seven men and five women on a jury that was reconfigured Wednesday morning have also returned to the courthouse to resume their work after the hearing to determine whether Brown is guilty of any or all of the fraud and tax charges against her.
An alternate juror was seated Wednesday after the judge excused one panel member who made comments about Brown and "higher beings."
Deliberations, which had to begin again with the new juror and included two questions sent to Judge Timothy Corrigan, began just after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and ended just before 5 p.m. with no indications that the jurors have reached verdicts on any of the 22 charges against Brown.
Within half an hour of beginning discussions with the alternate juror, the jury sent a question to Corrigan about whether Brown is responsible for everything on her taxes if she did not provide all the information or if she did not sign the tax forms. The judge referred the jurors to their instructions on how to view the tax counts.
